Seven returning members and five new artists to train with prestigious program during company’s new season
HOUSTON—March 9, 2026—Houston Grand Opera (HGO) is proud to announce the new class of exceptional emerging artists who will join the Sarah and Ernest Butler Houston Grand Opera Studio for the 2026-27 season. Seven returning members and five new artists will join the company for an intensive period of training designed to develop their artistry and prepare them for major professional careers. These outstanding singers and pianist-coaches were selected for the Butler Studio—widely recognized as one of the world’s most competitive and respected young artist programs—following a rigorous international search.
First-year Butler Studio artists include:
Scarlett Jones, soprano (first-place winner at HGO’s 2026 Eleanor McCollum Competition Concert of Arias)
Lauren Randolph, mezzo-soprano (third-place winner at HGO’s 2026 Eleanor McCollum Competition Concert of Arias)
Misael Corralejo, tenor (second-place and Audience Choice winner at HGO’s 2026 Eleanor McCollum Competition Concert of Arias)
Tzvi Bat Asherah, bass-baritone (finalist in HGO’s 2026 Eleanor McCollum Competition Concert of Arias)
Maeve Berry, pianist/coach
Returning Butler Studio artists include:
Alissa Goretsky, soprano
Elizabeth Hanje, soprano
Luka Tsevelidze, tenor
Geonho Lee, baritone
Sam Dhobhany, bass-baritone
Ziniu Zhao, bass
Tzu Kuang Tan, pianist/coach
“Each of these inspiring emerging artists has demonstrated rare musical gifts with the potential to propel them to the very top of our field,” says HGO General Director and CEO Khori Dastoor. “At HGO, we are committed to discovering and nurturing the talents of these exceptional young artists while preparing them for the global stage—an investment that is vital to the future of opera. It is thrilling to imagine the many ways our Butler Studio artists will share their creative voices with Houston in the season ahead, both on our mainstage and throughout the community. We cannot wait to welcome them.”
“The Butler Studio is grounded in a rigorous pursuit of excellence, and that pursuit begins with identifying artists whose talent is unmistakably unique,” says Butler Studio Director Colin Michael Brush. “Each artist in this class brings a distinctive artistic identity. This year’s cohort stands as a testament to the level of excellence shaping the next generation of opera. I have every confidence that they will not only make a meaningful impact here at HGO, but will go on to define the international stages of the future.”
About the Sarah and Ernest Butler Houston Grand Opera Studio
The Butler Studio provides exceptional classical singers and pianist-coaches with intensive, individualized training tailored to the demands of today’s opera world. From August through May, Studio artists live in Houston and engage in a rigorous curriculum designed to advance their artistry at the highest level.
During residencies of up to three years, members benefit from focused instruction in voice, movement, and languages, paired with significant performance opportunities. Butler Studio artists appear in both leading and supporting roles on the Wortham Theater Center stage, working alongside internationally acclaimed singers, directors, and conductors. They also perform widely across Houston and throughout Texas, deepening both their professional experience and their connection to the community.
Now approaching 50 years of history, the Butler Studio is widely regarded as one of the world’s premier young artist programs. Its immersive, hands-on approach places artists inside the professional life of a major opera company, with regular coachings from industry leaders, roles in HGO productions, recital appearances, and a wide range of concert engagements. In 2023, the program was renamed in honor of generous HGO supporters Sarah and Ernest Butler.
2026-27 Butler Studio Artist Biographies:
FIRST-YEAR ARTISTS:
SCARLETT JONES
(WALES)
SOPRANO
Scarlett Jones, an incoming Butler Studio artist from Ruthin, Wales, was the first-place winner at HGO’s 2026 Concert of Arias. Jones is currently pursuing a Master of Music at The Juilliard School, where she studies with Darrell Babidge and is a proud recipient of the prestigious Kovner Fellowship and Higley Scholarship. Jones’s recent operatic performances include Gertrude in Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel with Juilliard Opera, Ariadne (cover) in Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos with Dramatic Voices Berlin, and Miss Jessel (cover) in Britten’s The Turn of The Screw, also with Juilliard Opera. Jones earned her Bachelor of Music degree from Trinity Laban Conservatoire in London under the tutelage of Eamonn Mulhall and Robert Bottriell. During her time there, she performed the titular role in Errollyn Wallen’s Dido’s Ghost, Waltraute in Wagner’s Die Walküre, and Wellgunde in Götterdämmerung with the school’s Postgraduate Opera Scenes.
LAUREN RANDOLPH
(UNITED STATES)
MEZZO-SOPRANO
Lauren Randolph, an incoming Butler Studio artist from Chicago, was the third-place winner at HGO’s 2026 Concert of Arias. Randolph is currently studying with Elizabeth Bishop at the Juilliard School, where she is a recipient of the prestigious Kovner Fellowship. In 2025, she was recognized as a National Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera’s Laffont Competition. Randolph’s recent operatic performances include Madame de Croissy in Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites with Juilliard Opera and Grimgerde in Wagner’s Die Walküre with The Santa Fe Opera. In addition to operatic repertoire, Randolph is also a skilled concert soloist, having recently performed as the Soprano 2 soloist in Matthew Aucoin and Peter Sellars’s Music for New Bodies. In 2023, she debuted with the Chicago Symphony Chorus and Civic Orchestra as the Alto soloist in Bach’s cantatas 40 and 110. In December, she made her Carnegie Hall debut as the Alto soloist in Handel’s Messiah with the Cecilia Chorus of New York.
MISAEL CORRALEJO
(MEXICO)
TENOR
Misael Corralejo, an incoming Butler Studio artist from León, Mexico, was the second-place and Audience Choice winner at HGO’s 2026 Concert of Arias. He has been in residence at the Mexico Opera Studio (MOS) since 2024. In 2025, he debuted as Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi and as Lauro in the opera Paso del Norte, both MOS productions. The same year, he was invited to participate as an active member of the Bel Canto Institute in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato. He was named a Finalist in the 2025 Carlo Morelli National Vocal Competition. In 2024, he won the Mexico District Award at the Metropolitan Opera’s Laffont Competition, and in 2025, he won the Encouragement Award at the Laffont Competition in Denver. He won second prize and was a semifinalist in the zarzuela category at the 2024 Carlo Morelli National Vocal Competition and was a semifinalist and special guest at the 2024 San Miguel Opera Competition.
TZVI BAT ASHERAH
(UNITED STATES)
BASS-BARITONE
Tzvi Bat Asherah, an incoming Butler Studio artist from Albuquerque, was a finalist in HGO’s 2026 Concert of Arias. Bat Asherah is currently pursuing his Master of Music degree at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, where he studies with Robin Rice. In spring 2026, he will be performing Ford in Rice’s production of Verdi’s Falstaff. Bat Asherah sang in the 2025 Butler International Opera Competition and was awarded third place. Recently, he was seen in the title role of a concert performance of Mendelssohn’s Elijah, as the English Ambassador in John Corigliano’s The Ghosts of Versailles, and as Donner in Wagner’s Das Rheingold. Bat Asherah was a member of the Apprentice Program for Singers at the Santa Fe Opera in 2024, where he made his professional debut as Waiter 3 in Der Rosenkavalier. He will be returning to Santa Fe for his second apprentice summer in 2026.
MAEVE BERRY
(UNITED STATES)
PIANIST/COACH
Maeve Berry, an incoming Butler Studio artist from Pittsburgh, is a versatile pianist and vocal coach recognized for her work in opera, art song, and contemporary music. She served as the Pittsburgh Opera’s inaugural Resident Artist pianist and coach for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons. Recent engagements include serving on the music staff for the world premiere of Jennifer Higdon’s Woman with Eyes Closed (2025) and as répétiteur for the world premiere of Laura Kaminsky’s Time to Act (2026), both with Pittsburgh Opera. She also appeared as rehearsal pianist for the premiere of Madame Clicquot: a Revolutionary Musical (2025) with Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera. An active recitalist, Berry has performed at summer programs including the Cincinnati Song Initiative Fellowship of the Song, Franz-Schubert-Institut, Songfest, Toronto Summer Music Festival, and Source Song Festival. She has collaborated with prominent contemporary composers including Tom Cipullo, Jennifer Higdon, Laura Kaminsky, Jake Heggie, Libby Larsen, Ben Moore, and John Musto. Berry holds a Doctor of Musical Arts and an Advanced Certificate in Music Theory Pedagogy, both from the Eastman School of Music, where she served for several years as a teaching assistant in the theory department. In the summer of 2026, she will join the coaching staff at the Glimmerglass Festival as a festival resident artist.
RETURNING:
ALISSA GORETSKY
(UNITED STATES)
SOPRANO
A second-year Butler Studio artist from Los Angeles, Alissa Goretsky was the third-place winner of HGO’s 2024 Eleanor McCollum Competition Concert of Arias. In the 2025-26 season, she sings Young Lover in Il tabarro and Nursing Sister in Suor Angelica, both part of Il trittico; Dew Fairy in Hansel and Gretel; Gretel in Family Day Hansel and Gretel; Curley’s Wife in the Butler Studio production of Of Mice and Men; and Berta in The Barber of Seville. Goretsky was a 2025 Apprentice Singer for Santa Fe Opera, where she covered the role of Mimì in La bohème and Helmwige in Die Walküre. During the 2024-25 season, she made her HGO debut as Clorinda in Cinderella and performed the role again for the company’s English-language Family Day production. She made her operatic debut as Gismonda in Ottone at Caroline H. Hume Concert Hall under the baton of Corey Jameson in 2019. In 2024 she performed the role of Ma Zegner in Missy Mazzoli’s Proving Up, also at Caroline Hume Hall. Goretsky is a National Winner of the 2025 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition. She holds both Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
ELIZABETH HANJE
(UNITED STATES)
SOPRANO
Second-year Butler Studio artist Elizabeth Hanje, a Tanzanian-American soprano from Vestavia Hills, Alabama, was the first-place winner at HGO’s 2024 Eleanor McCollum Competition Concert of Arias. In the 2025-26 HGO season, Hanje performed the roles of Strawberry Woman in Porgy and Bess, First Alms Sister in Suor Angelica (Il trittico), Madeleine Audebert in Silent Night, and Gertrude in Family Day Hansel and Gretel. In the summer of 2025, Hanje was an Apprentice Singer for Santa Fe Opera, where she covered the role of Gerhilde in Die Walküre. In fall 2024, she made her mainstage debut with HGO as Ines in Il trovatore. At Oberlin Conservatory, her roles have included Ernestina in L’occasione fa il ladro, Comedian in Matthew Recio’s The Puppy Episode, and Lyra in Melissa Dunphy’s Alice Tierney, as well as performing in the chorus of Acis and Galatea. In 2022, she performed the role of Lyra in Alice Tierney in her debut with Opera Columbus. Hanje has sung in masterclasses with director Michael Capasso, soprano Christine Goerke, mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves, and soprano Harolyn Blackwell. She is a 2026 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition Semifinalist as well as the winner of the Laffont Competition Northwest Region and Washington District. She is also a winner of the 2023 Duncan Williams Voice Competition, and the 2022 George Shirley Vocal Competition. In 2021, she received the Richard Miller Award for Fine Singing and a YoungArts Award. Hanje was a Young Artist with Merola Opera Program (2024) and an Apprentice Artist with Des Moines Metro Opera (2023), and she is a 2022 alumna of HGO’s Young Artist Vocal Academy. In 2024, she received her Bachelor of Music degree from Oberlin Conservatory.
LUKA TSEVELIDZE
(GEORGIA)
TENOR
A first-year Butler Studio artist from Tbilisi, Georgia, Luka Tsevelidze won second place at HGO’s 2025 Eleanor McCollum Competition Concert of Arias. Tsevelidze makes his HGO debut as the Ballad Singer in the Butler Studio production of Of Mice and Men in the 2025-26 season. He made his operatic debut as Tamino in The Magic Flute with the Tbilisi State Conservatoire Opera Studio. He also performed as Alfredo (Act III) in La traviata at the Tbilisi Opera and Ballet Theater, as Nemorino in scenes from The Elixir of Love, and as Malkhaz in Daisi. In 2024, Tsevelidze performed in a concert in Kassel, Germany, and in 2023 he performed in a Laureate Concert in Prague. Tsevelidze pursued his Bachelor of Music from Tbilisi State Conservatoire.
GEONHO LEE
(SOUTH KOREA)
BARITONE
A first-year Butler Studio artist from Busan, South Korea, Geonho Lee won first place and the Audience Choice Award at HGO’s 2025 Eleanor McCollum Competition Concert of Arias. Lee made his HGO debut in the 2025-26 season as Marco in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi (Il trittico). Other roles this season include Peter in Family Day Hansel and Gretel; Slim in the Butler Studio production of Of Mice and Men; and Fiorello in The Barber of Seville. Lee was a 2024 semifinalist in the renowned Operalia Competition. He was a student of advanced studies at the University of Music and Theatre Munich, where he participated in frequent performances and productions. He has been an active member of the August Everding Academy and holds a prestigious scholarship from the Bühnenverein. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Vocal Performance from Seoul National University, where he won several prestigious competitions.
SAM DHOBHANY
(UNITED STATES)
BASS-BARITONE
A second-year Butler Studio artist from Brooklyn, New York, Sam Dhobhany received the Ana María Martínez Encouragement Award at HGO’s 2024 Eleanor McCollum Competition Concert of Arias. He is a 2022 alumnus of HGO’s Young Artist Vocal Academy. In HGO’s 2025-26 season, Dhobhany sings the roles of Undertaker in Porgy and Bess, Notary in Gianni Schicchi (Il trittico), British Major in Silent Night, George Milton in the Butler Studio production of Of Mice and Men, and Officer in The Barber of Seville. In HGO’s 2024-25 season, he made his company debut as Alidoro in HGO Family Day Presents Cinderella and sang the role of Terry in Breaking the Waves. In the summer of 2025, Dhobhany performed the roles of Zuniga in Carmen and Bartolo in The Marriage of Figaro at Wolf Trap Opera, where in 2021, he was a member of the Studio Artist Program, covering the role of Doctor Grenvil in La traviata. In 2024, Dhobhany sang the role of Angelotti in Tosca with Dayton Opera. He was an apprentice artist with Santa Fe Opera in 2023 and 2024, performing roles including Un Médecin in Pelléas et Mélisande and Marchese d’Obigny in La traviata. Dhobhany was the second-place winner of the 2025 Rocky Mountain Region of The Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.
ZINIU ZHAO
(CHINA)
BASS
A second-year Butler Studio artist from Shandong, China, Ziniu Zhao was the second-place winner at HGO’s 2024 Eleanor McCollum Competition Concert of Arias and a winner of the San Francisco District in the 2025 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition. In HGO’s 2025-26 season, he sings the roles of Maestro Spinellocchio in Gianni Schicchi (Il trittico), French General in Silent Night, and Candy in the Butler Studio production of Of Mice and Men. In the summer of 2025, Zhao sang Leporello in a concert version of Don Giovanni at the National Centre for Performing Arts in Beijing. During the 2024-25 season, he made his HGO debut as Don Magnifico in the company’s Family Day production of Cinderella and performed the role of Reinmar von Zweter in Tannhäuser. Zhao was a member of the Opera Talent Training Program of the China National Arts Foundation and has won several prestigious awards, including first prize at the Colorado International Music Competition, the Rossini Singing Award at the Fiorenza Cedolins Opera Competition in Italy, and the Maria Callas Award at the Vincerò International Opera Competition, also in Italy. In 2023, he performed a solo concert in Shandong. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, where his operatic roles included Don Pasquale (title role), Colline in La bohème, and Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte.
TZU KUANG TAN
(MALAYSIA)
PIANIST/COACH
Tzu Kuang Tan is a first-year Butler Studio artist from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. For HGO’s 2025-26 season, he serves as an Assistant Coach for Porgy and Bess, Silent Night, the Butler Studio production of Of Mice and Men, and Messiah. In the summer of 2025, Tan served as a Young Artist with the Merola Opera Program. There, he played and coached Rossini’s Count Ory, served as one of the pianists for the “Grand Night of Singing—An American Song Fest,” and served as a rehearsal pianist for the Schwabacher Summer Concert. Performance highlights include a 2023 song recital with Joanne Evans at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, after being named winner of the Marilyn Horne Song Competition in 2022. Tan was a 2024 participant in Renée Fleming’s Carnegie Hall Song Studio, during which he made his Carnegie Hall debut in Zankel Hall with Ruby Dibble. In addition to appearing on the concert stage, Tan coaches and works as a rehearsal pianist. He served the Butler Opera Center at UT Austin for productions of La bohème, Tan Dun’s Tea: A Mirror of Soul, Queen of Spades, La traviata, L’enfant et les sortilèges, John Corigliano’s The Ghosts of Versailles, and The Marriage of Figaro. Tan pursued a Doctoral of Musical Arts degree at UT Austin. He holds degrees from the University of Michigan and the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory in Singapore.
About Houston Grand Opera
Houston Grand Opera (HGO) is one of the largest, most innovative, and most highly acclaimed opera companies in the United States. General Director and CEO Khori Dastoor assumed leadership of the organization and responsibility for its strategic vision in 2021. HGO was the only American finalist for Opera Company of the Year in the 2025 International Opera Awards, and the only American company to be nominated for the award three times. In fulfilling its mission to advance the operatic art, to serve the Houston community, and to be a global leader in the future of opera, HGO has led the field in commissioning and producing new works (76 world premieres to date) and in training and nurturing promising young artists and administrators. In 2025, the company launched the Houston Grand Opera record label, enabling it to share American operatic works with a broad international audience. HGO contributes to the cultural enrichment of Houston and the nation through a diverse and innovative program of performances, community events, and education projects that reaches the widest possible public. The company’s pioneering Community and Learning initiative has served as a model for other arts organizations. HGO invites all Houstonians to experience superlative opera without the barrier of price through discounted single tickets and subscriptions, subsidized student performances, and free productions.
HGO has toured extensively and has won a Tony, three Grammy awards, and three Emmy awards. It is the only opera company to win all three honors.
