Opera San José has announced its 2025-26 resident artists. I'm familiar with two them: Nicole Koh, who was a delightful Papagena in OSJ's Magic Flute last year and Courtney Miller, who was terrific in Pocket Opera's recent, superb run of Kirke Mechem's Tartuffe. I'm sure the other artists will be excellent as well - congratulations to all!
Joanne Evans, mezzo-soprano
London-born mezzo-soprano Joanne Evans is a graduate of the 2023 Merola Opera Program and the 2024 Académie of the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, where she was awarded Le Prix des Amis for Voice. In the 2024–25 season, she joined the Ravinia Steans Music Institute as a fellow before she traveled to Aldeburgh to participate in the Britten Pears Young Artist Program for contemporary composition. She also attended the bel canto Voice Academy at Fondation des Treilles and performed the role of Flora in La Traviata with both Annapolis Opera and Berkshire Opera Festival. A 2022 Vocal Fellow at the Music Academy of the West, Evans performed the role of Olga in Eugene Onegin and won the Marilyn Horne Song Competition. That same year, she took first place in the Handel Aria Competition and was a Boston District winner in the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition. She is a recipient of a Career Bridges grant and has earned additional awards from the Gerda Lissner Foundation and the Premiere Opera Foundation. In addition to her performance work, Evans is the co-founder of Loam Music, an artistic partnership with singer and conductor Micah Gleason that creates semi-immersive musical experiences.
Emily Michiko Jensen, soprano
Praised by ArtsImpulse Boston for her “theatrical instincts and intriguingly versatile instrument,” Japanese American soprano Emily Michiko Jensen joins Opera San José as an Artist-in-Residence for the 2025–26 season. This June, Jensen returned to her signature role as Mimì in La Bohème with the Opera Company of Middlebury. In 2024, she made both her role and house debut as Mimì with Hawaii Opera Theatre and performed Musetta in La Bohème with the Borderland Arts Foundation’s La Frontera Opera. An alumna of the prestigious Emerging Artists Program at Boston Lyric Opera, she covered the title role in Madama Butterfly during its 2023–24 season. She is a recipient of a Career Grant from the Olga Forrai Foundation. Additional recent credits include covering the roles of Tosca, Angel More in The Fiery Angel, and Susan B. Anthony in The Mother of Us All at Chautauqua Opera and performing First Lady while covering Pamina in Die Zauberflöte at Pensacola Opera.
Nicole Koh, soprano
Soprano Nicole Koh, a native of Daly City, California, appeared with Opera San José last season as both the Queen of the Night and Papagena in Mozart’s The Magic Flute, and returns for the 2025–26 season as an Artist-in-Resident. Koh has appeared as Gretel in Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel with Chautauqua Opera and sang the title role in Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen with the Chautauqua Opera Conservatory. Additional credits include covering the role of Winnie in Sky on Swings (Opera Saratoga), the title role in Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea, and Nella in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi.
Noah Lindquist, conductor
A conductor, pianist, and vocal coach deeply rooted in the operatic tradition, Noah Lindquist enjoys a growing reputation as a dynamic and insightful presence on the podium. Since 2016, he has served as assistant conductor at Lyric Opera of Chicago and is a frequent member of the music staff at San Francisco Opera. He has led productions at Festival Napa Valley, where he conducted a critically acclaimed Don Pasquale featuring an international cast and an orchestra composed of musicians from leading ensembles, including the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, and Philadelphia Orchestra. Lindquist currently serves as head of music for the Manetti Shrem Opera Program at Festival Napa Valley. He is also an alumnus of both the Merola Opera Program and San Francisco Opera’s Adler Fellowship. He has collaborated in performance with many of today’s most celebrated singers, including Matthew Polenzani, Quinn Kelsey, Lucas Meachem, Serena Sáenz, and Pene Pati, and has coached artists appearing with the Metropolitan Opera, Oper Frankfurt, and San Francisco Opera.
Courtney Miller, mezzo-soprano
Known for her “captivating stage presence” and “excellent sense of comic timing,” mezzo-soprano Courtney Miller excels across genres. During the 2024-25 season, she returned to San Francisco Opera as Warren’s Wife in The Handmaid’s Tale, made debuts with Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera as Marcellina in Le Nozze di Figaro, and West Bay Opera as Teresa in La sonnambula, and returned to Pocket Opera as Elmire in Tartuffe after making her debut as Nancy in Albert Herring in 2023. In the 2025-26 season, she returns to Opera San José, Festival Opera, revives her one-woman show “Tell me the truth about love,” and debuts with Livermore Valley Opera as Despina in Così fan tutte. Additionally, she has sung roles with Detroit Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Madison Opera, and aboard Azamara Club Cruises.
Benjamin Ruiz, tenor
An award-winning tenor praised by Bachtrack for his “wonderful intensity” and “well-voiced” performances, Benjamin Ruiz is a graduate of Manhattan School of Music, where he earned his Master’s in Voice Performance as an Edgar Foster Daniels Foundation Scholar. While at MSM, he performed principal roles under esteemed conductors including Metropolitan Opera’s Maestro Pierre Vallet. He made his European debut as Professor Würchem in Der Vogelhändler with Mittelsächsisches Theater and his U.S. debut in the 2023-2024 season as Beppe in Pagliacci with Lyric Opera of Kansas City. Ruiz is an alumnus of the Resident Artist Program at Lyric Opera of Kansas City, the Gerdine Young Artist Program at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and The Santa Fe Opera’s renowned Apprentice Program for Singers. Notable past appearances include master classes with Donald Palumbo and Javier Camarena, and a performance with the Grammy-winning Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra during Opera Theatre Saint Louis’ 2024 Center Stage concert. Ruiz has been recognized by the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, Texoma NATS, the Alan M. and Joan Taub Ades Voice Competition, and is a First Prize Winner of the inaugural Duncan Williams Voice Competition, hosted by New York City Opera, Manhattan School of Music, and the Sphinx Foundation.
MarkAnthony Vallejo, director
A native of East Los Angeles, Mark Anthony Vallejo returns to Opera San José as Artist-in-Residence Director for the 2025–26 season, following his role as assistant director of La Bohème last season. He recently served as assistant director for Carmen with Music On Site, Inc., working alongside director Paul Houghtaling. A two-time finalist for the Metropolitan Opera’s Stage Directing Fellowship (2023 and 2024), Vallejo was honored to participate in an intensive for the Met’s new Carmen production, directed by Carrie Cracknell.
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