Iolanthe Opera Company

08/22/2026

08/21/2026

Meet our mighty chorus! We have six excellent singers joining our covers and several of our leads to form a 15-person ensemble tomorrow night!

Geoffrey Carlson, Brigitte Guariglia, John Klinges, Leonardo Leuci, John Milas and Gabby Sammarone

Iolanthe Opera Company and
Lauryn Boyle Music present
The Magic Flute
A concert performance

Saturday August 22nd at 7 PM
Manasquan United Methodist Church
23 Church St, Manasquan NJ

Tickets $15 online or $20 at the door
Link in bio

Sopranos:
Ally Christiansen
Brigitte Guariglia
Monica Niemi
Gabby Sammarone

Altos:
Jillana Kucey
Alicia Melendez
Sydney Pérez
Jenna Sims

Tenors:
Jae Garraway
Joseph Haughton
Leonardo L. Leuci

Basses:
Geoffrey Carlson
Drew Russell DuBoff
John Klinges
John Milas

08/21/2026

Julia is a fantastic collaborator, and we are so honored that she is able to join us for tomorrow's performance!

Iolanthe Opera Company and
Lauryn Boyle Music present:
The Magic Flute- a concert performance
Manasquan United Methodist Church
Tickets $15 online or $20 at the door

Meet our Pianist: Julia Hanna

Pianist Julia Hanna has performed widely in the New York and Philadelphia metropolitan areas, building an extensive repertoire of solo and chamber music.
Currently, she serves as a coach and accompanist at Westminster Choir College, where she has worked with many prominent artists and renowned voice programs such as the CoOPERAtive summer program and the Florence Voice Seminar in Italy. As an accompanist she has also performed and toured with several choirs from the New York area, in which capacity the New York Times has praised her performances as “vivid” and “deft.” In 2018 Julia was honored to be a featured performer in a Philip Glass opera workshop in North Adams, MA. In 2021, she was the featured pianist for the Princeton Festival Opera. Recently she was musical director and pianist for the Philadelphia premiere of “The Stronger,” an one-act opera. She also performed with Ca****la Sur in the Internacional de Cant Coral Catalunya festival. Julia is a native of Taiwan, where she began studying piano at age 5. There she attended an experimental music-focused grade school until moving to the United States. Here she studied with Paul Hoffmann and Barbara Gonzalez-Palmer, earning a BM in Piano Performance and MM in Collaborative Piano at Rutgers University.

08/20/2026

Meet our powerhouse romantic leads...and the comic lead who sings more iconic love duets than the tenor!

Brenten Megee as Tamino
Lauryn Boyle as Pamina
Cruz Roger Romero as Papageno

Iolanthe Opera Company and
Lauryn Boyle Music present

The Magic Flute
A concert performance

Saturday August 22nd at 7 PM
Manasquan United Methodist Church
23 Church St Manasquan NJ

Tickets $15 online or $20 at the door
Ticket link in bio

Brenten Megee is an accomplished classical tenor soloist, conductor, and pianist from Pennsylvania. He is grateful to play the role of “Tamino” in Mozart’s “Magic Flute”. He has sung in Operas, Oratorios, Musical Theatre shows, and more styles for over 24 years. Megee holds a Bachelor of Music in Voice from Lancaster Bible College and two Master of Music degrees in Voice and Choral Conducting from West Chester University. He has performed at Carnegie Hall, and in both China and Ireland. Currently, Brenten is the Performing Arts Associate and Music Director at Friends Home in Kennett, the Director of Music at Christ Church UMC Lansdale, the Music Director of Kennett Amateur Theatrical Society (KATS), the Tenor Section leader for the Brandywine Valley Choral and VoxAmaDeus, and a tenor staff member with Delaware Choral Arts Society and the Lancaster Symphony Chorus. www.brentensings.com

Lauryn Boyle, a Jersey Shore based soprano, has been praised for her crisp and clear tone. She holds a BM in Voice Performance from James Madison University and is active in opera, musical theatre, and sacred music. Opera roles: Mabel (The Pirates of Penzance), Iolanthe (Iolanthe), Papagena (The Magic Flute), Iolanta cover (Iolanta), Fiordiligi & Despina cover (Così fan tutte),Cousin H**e (H.M.S. Pinafore), Seconda Sorella Cercatrice (Suor Angelica), and Paralegal (Dead Man Walking). Musical theater highlights: Hodel (Fiddler on the Roof) Snow White (A Snow White Christmas Premiere) Madame de la Grande Bouche (Beauty and the Beast) Mrs. Cratchit/Christmas Past (Scrooge!). She was also the soprano soloist for Vivaldi’s Gloria. Lauryn is the Monmouth Montessori Academy music teacher. She music directs community theater,most recently The Little Mermaid and In

08/19/2026

Some incredible footage from last night's rehearsal!

Katherine Glinka as First Lady
Monica Niemi as Second Lady
Jillana Kucey as Third Lady
Brenten Megee as Tamino
Cruz Roger Romero as Papageno
With Julia Hanna, pianist

08/19/2026

HUNTR/X, the Plastics, the Sanderson Sisters....we all love a trio of fierce ladies! Our Three Ladies never met until last Tuesday, but achieved a remarkable vocal blend right away.

Katherine Glinka as First Lady
Monica Niemi as Second Lady
Jillana Kucey as Third Lady

Iolanthe Opera Company and
Lauryn Boyle Music present

The Magic Flute
a concert performance

Saturday August 22nd at 7 PM
Manasquan United Methodist Church
23 Church St Manasquan NJ

Tickets $15 online or $20 at the door
link in bio

08/18/2026

It's time to meet our Three Spirits: the most underrated characters in The Magic Flute. This treble trio is heavily featured in Act 2, guiding our heroes toward enlightenment and true love. Although the Three Spirits (originally Three Boys) are often sung by boy or girl sopranos, the First Spirit was originally performed by Anna Schikaneder: the 24-year-old daughter of Emanuel, who wrote the libretto and premiered Papageno.

Ally Christiansen as First Spirit/Papagena cover
Alicia Melendez as Second Spirit
Jenna Sims as Third Spirit

Iolanthe Opera Company and Lauryn Boyle Music present

The Magic Flute
A concert performance
Saturday August 22nd at 7 PM

Manasquan United Methodist Church
23 Church St, Manasquan NJ

Tickets $15 online or $20 at the door
Link in bio

Ally Finlinson Christiansen is a soprano from Leamington, Utah. She is a recent graduate with an MM in Voice Performance and Pedagogy at Westminster Choir College of Rider University, student of Margaret Cusack. Her undergraduate degree was in Voice Performance at Brigham Young University, finalized with her award-winning recital and the accompanying published essay. Ally is an active voice instructor and performer in the NYC Choral and Opera scenes, and this year became a full member of the treble vocal ensemble Accord. She is also an adjunct professor at Bergen Community College, where she provides collegiate voice instruction and teaches the introductory music lecture course. Recent roles include The Magpie in Michael Ching’s workshopped Overheard, Ruth in Evan Mack’s workshopped A Nearer Mother, and Masha in Ben Moore’s Enemies, A Love Story. You can find her online at www.allychristiansen.com.

Mezzo-soprano Alicia Melendez is a native of Great Falls, VA. She holds a Master of Music in Vocal Arts degree from Temple University and a Bachelor degree in Music Education from Loyola University New Orleans. Previous opera roles include Stéphano from Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, Mallika from Delibe’s Lakmé, Hänsel from Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel and Cherubino from Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro. In Summer 2024, Alicia participated as a Young Artist at The CoOPERAtive Program at Westminster Choir Coll

08/17/2026

Did you know? Opera productions often feature "covers", who learn and understudy a role while singing in the chorus or performing a different role.

We are proud to have three covers strengthening our chorus: Sydney Pérez for Third Lady, Joseph Haughton for Monostatos, and Ally Christiansen for Papagena. Ally is also singing the role of First Spirit, so we will learn more about her later.

Iolanthe Opera Company and
Lauryn Boyle Music present:

The Magic Flute: a concert performance
Saturday August 22nd at
Manasquan United Methodist Church
23 Church St, Manasquan NJ
Tickets $15 online or $20 at the door- link in bio

Sydney Pérez, mezzo-soprano and Texas native, is quickly establishing herself as a prominent performer in the tri-state area. This year, she made her Light Opera of New Jersey debut as Cousin H**e in H.M.S. Pinafore, and she will go on to make her debut with Garden State Singers as Hänsel in Hänsel und Gretel. Her past operatic role highlights include Mercédès (Carmen), The Mother (Amahl and the Night Visitors), and Gertrud (Hänsel und Gretel). Sydney is also a proud member of Sonaré Young Artist Program with the Continuo Arts Foundation, performing regularly with their Civic Chorale and serving as a Soloist Cover for their frequent Carnegie Hall engagements.

Joe Haughton is a New Jersey based tenor, multi-instrumentalist, and producer of theater and opera reviews. He served over 20 years in the US Air Force, performing for the past 6 US Presidents, entertaining diplomats around the world, and bringing comfort and joy to troops across 13 countries. He has sung on various stages including the Metropolitan Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Washington Concert Opera, and the Philadelphia and Boston Pops. He has produced over 100 virtual choir videos for churches and theater companies during the pandemic, and is the creative producer for LaTiDo Productions in DC.

08/16/2026

Are they villains? Depends who you ask. Are they masters of their craft? Undeniable.

Two role debuts and one reprise that you won't want to miss!

Jason Adamo as Sarastro
Kristina Terwilliger as Queen of the Night
Steven Copp as Monostatos

Iolanthe Opera Company and
Lauryn Boyle Music present
The Magic Flute: a concert performance
sung in German with English subtitles and dialog

Saturday, August 22nd at 7 PM
at Manasquan United Methodist Church
23 Church St, Manasquan NJ 08736

Tickets $15 online or $20 at the door
Ticket link in bio

Jason Adamo, bass, has performed a wide variety of repertoire, from Monteverdi to Kurt Weill. He is a frequent soloist with the Baroque Orchestra of New Jersey where he has sung numerous opera roles, including the title roles of Don Giovanni and Le Nozze di Figaro, Dulcamara in L’Elisir d’Amore, Falke in Die Fledermaus, and roles in J.S. Bach’s Coffee Cantata and Mozart’s Bastien und Bastienne. Elsewhere, he has sung Basilio in Camerata New Jersey’s Barbiere di Siviglia, Hub City Opera’s Le Pauvre Matelot as Beau Père, in roles with Dell’Arte Opera Ensemble in New York in La Clemenza di Tito, Seven Deadly Sins, and Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in Patria, and with Amore Opera as Colline in La Bohème and Leporello in Don Giovanni. This season, Jason will be seen in BONJ’s concert performance of Alessandro Scarlatti’s La Giuditta. Jason is a graduate of the Mannes School of Music.

Soprano Kristina Terwilliger is a Brooklyn-based performer and educator. Recent engagements include Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance with the MacBeth Concert Series, Leïla in Les pêcheurs de perles with Amore Opera, Miss Silverpeal in The Impresario with Light House Opera, and Pamina in Die Zauberflöte with Garden State Singers. Internationally, she has performed Violetta in La Traviata with the Mediterranean Opera Festival in Italy and Gilda in Rigoletto with Festival de’Bardi van Nederland in the Netherlands. She has also appeared as Solo Principal Dancer in La Bohème with Seattle Opera. Kristina holds a Bachelor of Music in Applied Voice from the University of Washington and a Master of Music in Classical Vocal Performance and an Advanced Certificate in V

08/15/2026

Meet our Singers!

Drew Russell DuBoff as Speaker
Emily Carroll Kwak as Papagena
Jae Garraway as Priest

Iolanthe Opera Company and
Lauryn Boyle Music present
The Magic Flute: a concert performance
sung in German with English subtitles and dialog

Saturday, August 22nd at 7 PM
at Manasquan United Methodist Church
23 Church St, Manasquan NJ 08736

Tickets $15 online or $20 at the door
Ticket link in bio