From Broadway to Hollywood

Praised for her “limpid, pliable, steady singing of the highest order” (Opera Today), Polish-American soprano Dorothy Gal is currently a member of the Houston Grand Opera Studio, where she recently made her mainstage debut as Zerlina in Don Giovanni under the baton of Cristian Măcelaru.  In the 2019/2020 season, Ms. Gal makes role debuts as Countess Ceprano in Rigoletto, High Priestess in Phelim McDermott's production of Aida, and Papagena in Barrie Kosky's production of Die Zauberflöte at the Houston Grand Opera, where she also covers Merab in Handel's Saul and Pamina in Die Zauberflöte. In November she performed in Opera America's Emerging Artist Recital as a representative of the Houston Grand Opera Studio, with repeat performances at the Rienzi Museum of Fine Arts in Houston. Other engagements include a solo recital in the Woodlands, TX, sponsored by the Verreaux Collective.  In the 2018/2019 season, Ms. Gal covered the roles of Leïla in Les pêcheurs de perles and Giulietta in the world premiere of Tarik O’Regan’s The Phoenix at HGO. A pioneer of new works, she also premiered Jamie Leidwinger’s commissioned song cycle "Sheltered Garden" with pianist Blair Salter as part of the Rienzi Recital Series. She went on to perform the role of Anne Egerman in A Little Night Music at the Aspen Summer Music Festival.

An artist distinguishable by her musicality and artistic ingenuity, Ms. Gal participated in Marilyn Horne’s The Song Continues Workshop at Carnegie Hall, was a Vocal Fellow at Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute, and is an alumnus of Houston Grand Opera’s Young Artist Vocal Academy. Other operatic performances include First Wood Sprite in Rusalka and Pousette in Manon (Des Moines Metro Opera); Sandrina in La Finta Giardiniera, Amy in Little Women, and Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi (Rice University); and Pastourelle in L’enfant et les sortilèges (Aspen Summer Music Festival). In 2018, Ms. Gal was awarded Second Prize in Houston Grand Opera’s Eleanor McCollum Competition.

She is a graduate of Mannes College in New York City and Rice University's Shepherd School of Music, having been the recipient of both the Renée Fleming and Cecilia Bartoli Scholarships in Voice. She is a pianist and native of Cocoa Beach, Florida.

Kit Cleto was born in Chicago, Illinois and showed interest in music at an early age. He actively sang in choirs from elementary school through high school. He received a BM in vocal performance from the University of Central Florida, studying under Dr. Jeremy Hunt and Priscilla Bagley. During his time at UCF, Kit sang solos with the University Chorus, Chamber Singers, and UCF Symphony Orchestra. He also performed operatic roles with UCF Opera, the Orlando Opera Company, and Valencia Opera Theater Workshop. Kit received a MM in Voice Performance & Literature from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign under full scholarship, studying with Jerold Siena, an internationally acclaimed tenor who has appeared regularly at the Metropolitan Opera and the world's leading opera houses. He performed operatic and musical theatre roles with the Lyric Theatre @ Illinois, U of I Opera Studio & Opera Scenes, Station Theatre, Sinfonia da Camera, and the Allerton Music Barn Festival. Kit spent the summers of 2010 and 2013 performing operatic scenes and studying the Italian language with La Scuola Italia per Cantanti Lirici in Urbania and St’Angelo in Vado, Italy. Recently, Kit has successfully crossed over into the musical theatre genre as well, performing leading and supporting roles with many Central Florida theatre companies such as the Garden Theatre, Athens Theatre, Mad Cow Theatre, Central Florida Community Arts, and Titusville Playhouse. He currently serves on the voice faculty at Valencia College and the Orlando School of Music.

Mezzo soprano Sarah Purser has been a familiar face in the Orlando music world since 2001 when she began singing with the Orlando Opera Company. She is currently a studio artist with Opera Orlando and serves as the company’s Assistant Director of Education where she coordinates opera outreach programs bringing the art form to students in Orange County Public Schools.  Ms. Purser, whose voice has been described as “at once sultry yet vulnerable,” feels equally at home in the classical, jazz, and contemporary music genres. She earned her Master of Arts in Music and Bachelor of Music Education degrees from the University of Central Florida where she studied vocal performance and conducting. Currently, Ms. Purser is on voice faculty at Valencia College and she is also the choral director at Bishop Moore High School in Orlando, and runs her own voice studio.  Recent performances consist of several roles with the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, Orlando Light Opera, UCF Opera and Musiktheater Bavaria including Tibse in La Cenerentola, Meg Page in Merry Wives of Windsor, Olga in The Merry Widow, and Third Spirit and The Magic Flute, as well as mezzo-soprano soloist in Vivialdi's Gloria, Lori Laitman’s Vedem, Handel’s Messiah, and Saint Saëns’ Christmas Oratorio. She recently sang the role of the Dominatrix in Opera Orlando’s premier Fringe Festival production, Safe Word and was a soloist in UCF’s production of Bernstein’s Mass. She is looking forward to singing the role of Hansel in Opera Orlando’s production of Hansel and Gretel in December of this year.

Ms. Purser is a founding member of the professional women’s vocal ensemble, Helena, and she sings with the 8-voice Basilica Choir at the National Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe, and frequently performs in a jazz band along with her bass-player husband, Marco.

David Bracamonte, an Arizona native, has been described as having “amazing control between the big powerhouse moments and the softer, subtler sequences, while always moving seamlessly from dialogue to lyric and back again. He is worth your ticket price alone.“ David has his Bachelor's Degree in Vocal Performance and studied at Northern Arizona University where he was a principal singer in many productions such as The Rape of Lucretia, Le Nozze di Figaro, Die Zauberflöte, A Little Night Music and The Fantasticks. David has enjoyed a professional career as a singer and actor across the globe including touring productions, cruise ships and regional theatre. He was most recently seen as Rapunzel's Prince in Into The Woods (Central Florida Community Arts) and as the title role in Sweeney Todd (Insomniac Theatre). Some other favorite credits include Les Miserables (Orlando Shakespeare Theatre), The Drowsy Chaperone (Mad Cow Theatre), and A Tale Of Two Cities (Central Florida Vocal Arts). He can be seen singing at Walt Disney World in Beauty and the Beast: Live on Stage where he has performed for over 9 years.  He currently produces, writes and directs seasonal entertainment offerings for Gaylord Hotels.