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    Quodesia D. Johnson

    Quo Johnson
    Quodesia D. Johnson

    Quodesia “Quo” Johnson (she/her) is an equity specialist, racial equity coach, healing practitioner, speaker, and community facilitator recognized nationally for her unique approach to shaping spaces of collaboration and creativity in the nonprofit arts, culture, education, and social justice sectors. Quo’s original Company Culture Framework™ combines her experience in the arts, business, organizational culture, and trauma-informed healing practices to cultivate a transformational, human-centered approach to dismantling systems of oppression.

    Making history by developing and facilitating the first national Racial Justice Opera Forum in U.S. opera history, Quo continues to inspire creativity and courageous connection in her collaborations and speaking engagements throughout the United States and Canada. As the creator, content curator, and cohost of Taking the Stage with Kristian and Quo, she engages an international audience in meaningful conversations at the intersection of art, business, healing, social justice, and community.

    The Dallas local currently serves as founder and chief collaborative consultant (Quo Johnson Co Project, LLC); founder and space moderator (Black Administrators of Opera); company culture consultant (The Dallas Opera); social justice advisor (OPERA America); and racial equity coach and racial healing facilitator (Dallas Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation). Quo is a trained facilitator in Rx Racial Healing™ and The Storytelling Blanket™, a proud graduate of Prairie View A&M University, a Dallas Public Voices Fellow of The OpEd Project, and earned her MA in Arts Administration from Goucher College.

    David Lomelí

    David Lomelí
    David Lomelí

    David Lomelí became the first Latino in US history to occupy a top artistic position at a Level 1 opera company when he was named the Director of Artistic Administration at The Dallas Opera in 2018. In September 2019, he joined the team at the historic Bavarian State Opera in Munich where he took part in casting more than 30 new productions and 50 revival productions for the 2021-2025 seasons, becoming the first Hispanic to hold the position of Head of Casting in a top 5 company in the world. In April 2021, he joined the Santa Fe Opera in a newly created position as Chief Artistic Officer, overseeing the company’s artistic output. After a full calendar year with the company and managing the 2021 and 2022 festival, Santa Fe Opera won “Festival of the Year” at the International Opera Awards in November 2022. During his time with The Dallas Opera, Lomelí was involved in the commissioning and producing of five world premieres and facilitated the debuts of major International and US stars. He is most proud of his work with The Dallas Opera’s Hart Institute for Women Conductors (HIWC), where he and his team recruited over 400 conductors and 50 administrators with applications spanning more than 30 countries. During the pandemic, Lomelí and his team created the TDO Network for The Dallas Opera, which generated millions of views on the company’s social media channels. 

    Before joining TDO, Mr. Lomelí performed as a world-renoned tenor with many top leading companies. He is a recipient of the National Youth Prize in the Arts, presented by the Mexican government, and won first prize in both categories of opera and zarzuela in Plácido Domingo’s 2006 Operalia. Mr. Lomeli is an alumnus of some of the most prestigious training programs for opera artists, including the Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program at LA Opera, the Merola Opera Program, and Adler Fellowship at the San Francisco Opera, as well as the International Society of Mexican Art and Values in Mexico City. 

     

    Nicole Paiement

    Nicole Paiement
    Nicole Paiement

    Nicole Paiement has gained an international reputation as a conductor of contemporary music and opera. Her numerous recordings include many world premiere works.

    Maestro Paiement’s 2012 Dallas Opera debut conducting Peter Maxwell Davies’ 1979 thriller, The Lighthouse earned rave reviews. Subsequently, Paiement was appointed Principal Guest Conductor at The Dallas Opera. Paiement has since returned to Dallas to conduct performances of Tod Machover’s Death and the Powers, as well as the critically acclaimed and highly anticipated world premiere of Joby Talbot’s opera Everest, Benjamin Britten’s The Turn of the Screw and Douglas Cuomo’s Arjuna’s Dilemma. In 2018, Paiement conducted the US premiere of Michel Van Der Aa’s Sunken Garden and most recently in 2022 conducted Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers.

    Founder and Artistic Director of San Francisco’s Opera Parallèle, Paiement has conducted many new productions, including: world premieres of Lou Harrison’s final version of Young Caesar, Dante De Silva’s commissioned opera Gesualdo, Prince of Madness (presented as a graphic opera), Luciano Chessa’s commissioned opera A Heavenly Act, the commissioned chamber version of John Harbison’s The Great Gatsby, the premiere of the re-orchestration of Terence Blanchard’s Champion in collaboration with SFJAZZ Center; West Coast premieres of John Rea’s re-orchestration of Alban Berg’s Wozzeck and Philip Glass’ Orphée; Virgil Thomson’s Four Saints in Three Acts; Osvaldo Golijov’s Ainadamar; Francis Poulenc’s Les Mamelles de Tirésias; Kurt Weill’s Mahagonny Songspiel; American Premieres of Adam Gorb’s Anya 17 and Tarik O’Regan’s Heart of Darkness; the San Francisco Bay Area return of Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking; a new production of Peter Maxwell Davies’ The Lighthouse; Philip Glass’ Les Enfants Terribles; and Jonathan Dove’s Flight.  In 2017/18 Paiement conducted a new double bill of Jake Heggie’s At the Statue of Venus and Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti in collaboration with SFJAZZ, as well as Rachel Portman’s The Little Prince. Opera Parallèle made its debut at Phillip Glass’ Days & Nights Festival in the 2018/19 season with Glass’ In the Penal Colony. That season also featured Paiement conducting the world premiere performances of Today it Rains, a commissioned opera by Laura Kaminsky based on the life of Georgia O’Keeffe, and the return of Rachel Portman’s The Little Prince. In 2021, Paiement was conductor for the company’s groundbreaking film project, Everest – A Graphic Novel Opera. The 2021/22 season saw Paiement lead the West Coast premiere of Lembit Beecher’s Sophia’s Forest, and complete Glass’ Cocteau trilogy with a new production of La Belle et La Bête at SFJAZZ.

    Ms. Paiement is a very active guest conductor. In 2019, she made her debut at Lyric Opera of Chicago with Heggie’s Dead Man Walking, as well as performances with the Washington National Opera, The Glimmerglass Festival (2016 – 2018) and a debut at Seattle Opera with Mason Bates’ The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs. Other prior engagements include Talbot’s Everest with Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Puts’ Silent Night at The Atlanta Opera and Washington National Opera for the world premiere of Mohammed Fairouz’s The Dictator’s Wife. In 2019 Paiement also conducted the world premiere of Jake Heggie’s If I Were You with Merola Opera Program, San Francisco. Mo. Paiement made her debut at Opéra de Montréal with the Canadian premiere of Benjamin’s Written on Skin in January 2020 and with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra in November 2020.

    In 2022, Mo. Paiement returned to The Dallas Opera for a new production of Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers, and made her UK premiere with the English National Opera conducting It’s a Wonderful Life by Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer. Paiement also returned to the UK in June 2023 to conduct Talbot’s Everest with the BBC Symphony at the Barbican Center, London. Also in the 2022/23 season Mo. Paiement returned to L’Opéra de Montréal with Ainadamar by Golijov and made her concert debut with the Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana in Palermo, Italy. For Opera Parallèle, Paiement conducted the premiere of a new chamber orchestration of the Moravec/Campbell opera The Shining in June 2023.

    The 2023/2024 season will include the world premiere of The Emissary (by Kenji Oh & Kelley Rourke) with Opera Parallèle in October 2023  followed by Birds & Balls at SFJAZZ in April 2024. Paiement also returns to the Dallas Opera in March 2024 for Gounod’s Romeo et Juliette, as well as a debut with the Volksoper Vienna in June 2024, conducting both a symphonic concert and The Gospel According to the Other Mary by John Adams. Paiement will also return to L’Opéra de Montréal in the 2024/25 Season.

    Paiement has served as the Artistic Director of the BluePrint Project at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM) where she has commissioned, premiered, and recorded works from many living American composers. At SFCM, she holds the Jean and Josette Deleage Distinguished Chair in New Music. Paiement previously served as the Director of Ensembles at the University of California – Santa Cruz (UCSC), where she was awarded the UCSC Eminent Professor Award in 2014. She received the Edward A. Dickson Emeritus Professorship in 2015 in recognition of her outstanding contributions and achievement in artistic scholarship and teaching.

    Paiement was awarded American Composer’s Forum’s “Champion of New Music Award” for her outstanding contributions to contemporary music in 2016. In addition to being a leader in the world of contemporary opera, Ms. Paiement is also a specialist in early 20th Century French music and regularly conducts music from the Baroque and Classical repertoire.

     

    Mariana Fonseca

    Mariana Fonseca is a culture focused executive leader in Digital and Marketing. Most recently she served as Vice President of Digital Customer Experience and Loyalty at Virgin Voyages where she team responsible for curating the most irresistible digital experience of any travel brand to support driving growth and brand loyalty.

    Born in Mexico City, Mariana was always drawn to interests and industries dominated by men. While attending the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, she was one of only five women in her Civil Engineering class and upon graduation, she was one of just a very few women working in construction.

    Mariana later graduated with an MBA from the University of Notre Dame. While there, she served as president of the Hispanic Club and was named a recipient of the Mary S. Rosenthal Outstanding Female Student Award. In 2010, she joined American Airlines and has since held leadership positions in finance, alliance strategy, corporate planning and technology.

    At both American Airlines and Virgin Voyages, Mariana has developed a reputation as a champion of impactful results. Responsible for transforming the airline’s digital and delivery practices, she was also hyper-focused on driving adoption of a product culture and empowering teams to be more customer-centric.

    Creating opportunities for others – especially women of color – remains an important part of Mariana’s story. Since 2014, she’s served on the Corporate Advisory Board of Notre Dame’s Mendoza School of Business. She also sat on the Audit Committee for
    the Texas Women’s Foundation and on the Board of the Dallas Opera. Through those positions she advocated for hiring diversity, advancement and representation.

    Mariana and her husband, Pablo, live in Aventura, FL. They have three children: Paula, Mateo and Sabina.

    Carlo Montanaro

    Founder of OperaWebinar and Music Director at Teatr Wielki in Warsaw from 2011 to 2014, Italian conductor Carlo Montanaro was discovered by Zubin Mehta, who recommanded him to the Hochschule für Musik in Vienna, where he improved his skills under Leopold Hager, Erwin Acél and Yugi Yuasa for three years.

    Since 2001, Montanaro has conducted opera and concerts in major venues including Teatro dell’Opera in Rome, Teatro Massimo in Palermo, Fondazione Arena in Verona, Deutsche Oper in Berlin, Teatro Comunale in Florence, Fondazione Arturo Toscanini in Parma and Teatro Verdi in Trieste (a collaboration which led to a Japanese tour with the Orchestra). Titles included Lucia di Lammermoor, Nabucco, Aida, Tosca, La Sonnambula, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Madama Butterfly and La Bohème.

    He conducted two works in the 2004-2005 season at Teatro Comunale in Florence, as well as various symphonic concerts with Fondazione Arena Verona, Orchestra Filarmonica Marchigiana, Teatro Cilea in Reggio Calabria and Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. He conducted Il Trovatore and Il Barbiere di Siviglia at the State Opera of Stuttgart, as well as Il Barbiere di  Siviglia with Fondazione Arturo Toscanini.

    Highlights between 2006 and 2008 include a great public and critical success conducting Un Ballo in Maschera with the Israeli Opera of Tel Aviv (new production), his American debut in Colorado with Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore, I Dialoghi delle Carmelitane in Bilbao to great critical acclaim, and Madama Butterfly at the Deutsche Oper Berlin.

    In 2008 he made his debut at La Scala with La Traviata, and he opened the Macerata Summer Festival with Carmen directed by Dante Ferretti. He conducted Il Corsaro at Festival Verdi in Parma and made his debut at Hercules Halle in Munich in a concert with the Weimar Staatskapelle and Erwin Schrott.

    His 2009 opened with Madama Butterfly at the New National Theatre in Tokyo, followed by his return to Opera Colorado in Denver for Così fan tutte and a highly praised new production of Simone Boccanegra at Megaron in Athens, where he was then invited again to conduct Aida. He opened the 2009/10 Season at Canadian Opera conducting a new production of Madama Butterfly, and he conducted Mefistofele in Frankfurt, Verdi’s Requiem at Musikverein in Graz, Roméo et Juliette in Verona, La Traviata in Munich and Aida in Hamburg with great reviews from public and critics.

    In 2011 he debuted with Carmen at Semperoper Dresden to great success, and he was reinvited to conduct Il Barbiere di Siviglia and a new production of Un Ballo in Maschera. Further highlights: Don Quichotte and Attila at Seattle Opera, a new production of Turandot in Warsaw, Lucia di Lammermoor in Bilbao, Aida, Manon Lescaut, Turandot and Macbeth in Hamburg, La Bohème at Teatro Comunale di Firenze, L’Amico Fritz and a new production of Adriana Lecouvreur in Frankfurt, La Traviata in Warsaw and in Cincinnati.

    In September 2012 he returned to Musikverein in Graz to conduct a concert version of Verdi’s Giovanna D’Arco, and since then he conducted Falstaff in Hamburg, Tosca and L’Elisir d’Amore in Munich, Il Barbiere di Siviglia in Tokyo, Don Carlo, Verdi’s Requiem and Turandot in Warsaw, La Bohème in Seattle, Don Carlo in Frankfurt, Il Corsaro in Budapest, Norma at the Festival in Peralada. In season 2013/14, Madama Butterfly in Nagoya and Hamburg, La Traviata in Oviedo, La Bohème in Budapest, The Consul in Seattle, a concert version of Attila in Warsaw, Carmen, L’Elisir d’Amore and Tosca in Munich, Tosca and Il Trovatore at the Mariinsky in St. Petersburg, as well as concerts with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Orchestra del Santa Cecilia in Rome.

    In season 14/15 he successfully debuted at Opéra Bastille in Paris with Il Barbiere di Siviglia. After that, he was on the podiums of the Hungarian National Philharmonic (Verdi’s Requiem) and Seattle Symphony for a series of concerts. He then conducted a new production of La Fanciulla del West in Hamburg, Rigoletto and La Traviata in Warsaw, Mefistofele in Budapest, Simon Boccanegra in Frankfurt, Rossini’s Stabat Mater in Budapest and Pécs, Nabucco in Seattle.

    Highlights in the recent seasons include the debut at Opéra de Monte-Carlo (Tosca), at Korean National Opera (Tosca and La Bohème), at Sydney Opera House (La Bohème, Lucia di Lammermoor and Werther) and at San Francisco Opera (Carmen and La Bohème), as well as Rigoletto and Madama Butterfly at Warsaw Opera, Maria Stuarda, Madama Butterfly, Il Trovatore, Rigoletto and L’Elisir d’Amore in Seattle, a new production of Rigoletto in Frankfurt, La Traviata at Dallas Opera and in Melbourne, Lucia di Lammermoor at the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Rigoletto at Opéra de Montréal, Un Ballo in Maschera at the Hungarian State Opera, La Traviata and Il Barbiere di Siviglia at Opéra de Paris, La Bohème at Hamburgische Staatsoper, La Traviata and Nabucco at Deutsche Oper.

    In concert, he appeared with Cincinnati Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, Hungarian National Philharmonic, Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, and he conducted Mozart’s Requiem at Teatro Regio di Parma.

    Most recently he conducted Il Turco in Italia and Lucia di Lammermoor with Teatro di San Carlo, Ernani, La Juive and Madama Butterfly with Opera Australia, Tosca with Opéra de Paris, Les contes d’Hoffmann with ABAO Olbe. In concert, he made his debut with the Fort Worth SymphonyOrchestra.
    Future engagements include Madama Butterfly at Palm Beach Opera, Nabucco at the Deutsche Oper, La traviata at Seattle Opera, Tosca at Oper Frankfurt.

    Jessica Gonzalez

    USA

    Jessica Gonzalez has worked in marketing for nonprofit performing-arts organizations nationwide. Among them have been The Glimmerglass Festival, Apollo Chamber Players, Opera in the Heights, Association of Performing Arts Professionals, and Houston Grand Opera. Before her career in arts administration, Gonzalez studied opera at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, performing roles such as Rosalinde/Die Fledermaus), the Queen of the Night/The Magic Flute, and Countess Almaviva/The Marriage of Figaro. She earned a Master’s Degree in Arts Leadership from the University of Houston, where she was a Presidential Endowment Fellowship scholar and was elected to serve on the Dean’s Student Advisory Committee. A first-generation college student, Gonzalez attributes much of her personal and professional growth to studying and performing opera and is dedicated to supporting the art form.