Cast and Creative Team
 

Brandon Michael Smith has performed across the country as a conductor, keyboardist, and vocalist. Born and raised in Northeast Florida, he first trained as a vocalist with emphases in opera and musical theatre, before moving into collaborative piano and organ studies. He received a B.A. in Music from Jacksonville University with emphases in Music Education and Choral Studies, and also holds a M.M. in Conducting from Ithaca College with emphases in Musical Theatre, Opera, and Choral Music. He has taught at Florida State College of Jacksonville, Ithaca College, Jacksonville University, and has been sought after by several academic music programs as vocal coach and choral clinician. Prior to returning to Jacksonville, FL in 2018, he held a multi-year residency at The Hangar Theatre in Ithaca, NY. Brandon is the proud co-founder of Bold City Opera.​

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NYC: Pagliacci (Assoc. Conductor/Chorus Master/Pianist). National Tour: Wicked (Keyboard4). Regional: HMS Pinafore with First Coast Opera (Conductor), Mamma Mia! with Cape Fear Regional Theatre (Music Director), Pagliacci with Opera Ithaca (Assoc. Conductor/Chorus Master/Pianist); Xanadu (Music Director), Pride and Prejudice (MD), Chicago (Assoc. MD), A Christmas Carol (MD/Arranger/Pianist), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (Assoc. MD) and In The Heights at the Hangar Theatre (Assoc. MD). 

Falynn Davis received her Bachelor of Music Performance degree from the University of North Florida. Recent roles with the UNF Opera Theater include Prince Orlofsky from Die Fledermaus by Strauss and Dorabella from Mozart's Cosi fan tutte. Last summer, she had the pleasure of singing La Ciesca in Puccini's Gianni Schicchi with the Utah Vocal Arts Academy. She will be making her title role debut as Giulio Cesare this summer with Opera Seme in Arezzo, Italy where she will perform with the Spazio Seme Orchestra. She is delighted to join Bold City Opera this Fall to take the stage as La sorella infermiera in Puccini’s Suor Angelica and sing Sally in the outreach productions of Barber’s A Hand of Bridge. 

Hecate Smith, Mezzo Soprano, is overjoyed to be joining Bold City Opera for their Inaugural season.  Hecate is a graduate of Stetson University and has been active in the North East Florida classical music community since 2008.  She currently performs with the Jacksonville Symphony Chorus.  You may remember Hecate from local and regional theatrical productions with Theatre Jacksonville, Players by the Sea, ABET, and the prestigious Timucua Arts Foundation in Orlando, Florida as well as NY based theater companies like Walking on Water Productions and Triphammer Arts.  She was also a featured soloist with Cirque du Soleil's La Nouba in Disney Springs (Downtown Disney).  Hecate currently serves as Cantor and Worship Leader at Arlington Congregational Church but has performed with the Jacksonville Chamber Cammarata, Central Florida Lyric Opera, First Coast Opera, Unitarian Universalist Church of Jacksonville, St. Cyprian's Episcopal Church, Riverside United Church of Christ, Community Presbyterian Church, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church,  San Jose Episcopal Church and at Church of The Good Shepherd as a member of the Good Shepherd Chamber Music Society.  

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North Florida based soprano, Kate Patterson, has established herself as a skilled interpreter of American art song and musical theatre standards. With tours throughout the States and abroad, Miss Patterson has excelled as a professional chorister and soloist in concerts and recitals in Paris, Brussels, Boston, New York City, and Washington D.C.. Miss Patterson received her A.S. in Musical Theatre from Florida School of the Arts and B.M. in Music Performance from Ohio Northern University.  During her education she studied voice under Stephanie Walter-Masterson and Kirsten Osbun-Manley, respectively. She is a winner of the 2019 Ohio Northern University Concerto Competition. Her coaches have included Baroque trumpeter Jean-François Madeuf, Gregorian chant specialist Angela Marie Rocchio, and sopranos Kandie Kearly-Smith and Rhonda Nus Tinnin. Her time abroad and on tour has allowed her to perform in such venues as the Notre-Dame and La Madeleine in Paris, France; the Cathedral of Sts. Michael and Gudula in Brussels, Belgium; and the National United Methodist Church in Washington, DC, USA.

Equally at home in the recital hall and in the theatre, her favorite roles include: Mabel – The Pirates of Penzance; Cosette - Les Misérables; Marcy - Dog Sees God; Dritter Knabe - Die Zauberflöte. 

Lisa is delighted to perform for Bold City Opera’s inaugural season. The soprano has appeared on opera and concert stages across the United States and throughout Europe. Recent performances include the soprano solos in Mozart’s Coronation Mass for the St. Augustine Community Chorus, I Too, Sing America: A Celebration of Black History and Song in the United States, which Ms. Lockhart produced for the 2023 St. Augustine Romanza Festivale of Music & the Arts and the title role in Gustav Holst’s opera Savitri with First Coast Opera. Lisa also recently directed Broadway Babies, a Broadway revue featuring young performers and was the Music Director for Little Miss Sunshine the Musical; both at Limelight Theatre. Roles include Musetta in La Bohème, the Countess Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro, the Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors, the title roles of Aida and Madama Butterfly, Leonora in Il Trovatore, Serena, Bess and Clara in Porgy and Bess, Rosalinda in Die Fledermaus, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni and more. A graduate of The Boston Conservatory of Music, Lisa is an adjunct vocal professor at Florida State College at Jacksonville, teaches Musical Theatre and Vocal Performance classes at Zoika’s Dance, has a thriving private studio and is a frequent music director at Limelight Theatre.

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Luke Clayborn Hopper is a light lyric tenor from Jacksonville Beach, FL. He studied piano and voice his senior year at Fletcher High School with Jane Palmer and then went on to earn a bachelor of music in vocal performance from UNF, studying under the tutelage of baritone Dr. Krzysztof Biernacki. Having served tables at Ruth's Chris for 7 years after graduating college and finding that occupation to be unsatisfying, he started his own online retail business. With nights now free, he hopes to become much more active in the Jacksonville music scene.

Zac Harmon, tenor, is a 20 year-old Vocal Performance major at the University of North Florida. He has been singing and playing piano for over 14 years, and performs regularly as an accompanist for the Jacksonville Masterworks Chorale. He just recently appeared as Eisenstein in UNF Opera Theater's production of Strauss II's Die Fledermaus. This fall, you can find him playing the role of The Witch in Humperdinck's Hänsel und Gretel at UNF, as well. 

St. Augustine baritone Dirk Gavin McCoy most recently appeared with First Coast Opera’s Golden Age of Opera concert, the 3rd Trio Member in Trouble in Tahiti for the 2022 Romanza Festivale and on the Lullaby of Broadway concert with A Classic Act Theatre concert. A frequent artist for First Coast Opera, he sang the roles of Marcello in Pasta & Puccini/La Boheme, Sergeant Miller in the 2018 FL premiere of Curtis Tucker’s The Stranger’s Tale, King Melchior in Amahl and the Night Visitors and Uncle Bonzo in Madama Butterfly. Florida concert appearances include Evening of Arias with FCO, Songs of Love for the 2021 Romanza Festivale, Eugene Tart in the song cycle world premiere Viola! for the Kukua Institute in Pensacola and Niceville, Sposi Cantanti for the 2020 Romanza Festivale Online, Carmen to Carousel at Grace United Methodist Church and more. Additional roles include Guglielmo in Così Fan Tutte, the title role of Gianni Schicchi, the title character in Le Nozze di Figaro, Uncle Bonzo in Madama Butterfly, Masetto in Don Giovanni, among others. Dirk has sung in the prestigious choruses of the New York City Opera and Washington National Opera, singing or covering comprimario roles in both houses. Upcoming roles include a reprise of Sergeant Miller in The Stranger's Tale and baritone soloist for the Copeland’s America concert with FCO.