About USU Opera Theatre
USU Opera Theatre offers students the opportunity to participate in productions of the great works of classical opera and modern musical theatre every year under the direction of Dallas Aksoy. Our productions have a focus on teaching students the art of musical stagecraft – telling a story on stage through sight and song.
Utah State’s Opera Theatre has proven to be an excellent starting place for young singers, many of whom have gone on to further study at some of the nation's finest graduate schools and conservatories and then on to accomplished careers with prominent companies around the world. Direction by professionally-experienced faculty that are focused on student improvement provides a unique experience few university programs can match. Guest directors are also brought in from across the country to provide students with authentic, industry-standard production experiences which prepares them for future success as singing actors or teachers.
Repertoire is carefully selected each year, tailored to our students’ educational benefit, and has consisted of Baroque/Classical/Romantic/20th-century opera, contemporary musical theatre, and creative programs of opera/musical theatre scenes. Opera scholarships are also available, providing additional performing opportunities and training as part of the Marie Eccles Caine-Russell Family Opera Outreach Quartet.
All interested students are welcome to be involved, regardless of major. Register for MUSC 5600 Opera Theatre Production or contact Dallas Aksoy for more information!
Productions
USU Opera Theatre is pleased to announce the following productions for the 2025-2026 year. You can find tickets for these and other Music Department productions at our online Ticket Office.
Purchase Tickets for Upcoming Productions
Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812
Musical by Dave Malloy, adapted from War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
Set against the grand backdrop of Napoleon’s fateful 1812 invasion of imperial Russia, Natasha, Pierre, & the Great Comet of 1812 recounts innocent Natasha’s fateful surrendering to the sybarite Anatole, disenchanted Pierre’s search for meaning, and the auspicious comet that connects them both.
This Tony-award winning electropop musical straddles genres, providing a unique, once-in-a-lifetime theatrical experience. Performed by USU voice and orchestra students in an in-the-round supper club setting at the LionHeart Hall (480 N 100 E, Logan, UT), November 14-15, 20-22 at 7:30 pm; November 16 at 4:00 pm; and November 22 at 2:00 pm. Mocktails and light hors d’oeuvres included with ticket price.
The Abduction from the Seraglio
(Die Entführung aus dem Serail)
Music by W.A. Mozart, Libretto by G. Stephanie
After his fiancée Konstanze, his servant Pedrillo, and his fiancée’s chambermaid Blonde have been captured by pirates and sold to the harem of local Ottoman lord Pasha Selim, Belmonte attempts a daring rescue involving subterfuge, deceit, and no small amount of luck. As one of only two of Mozart’s Singspiele that are regularly performed (the other being The Magic Flute), this work combines his musical brilliance with light-hearted comedy delivered in spoken scenes in a style presaging modern musical theatre.
Director: Dallas Aksoy
Conductor: Mariusz Smolij
Performances: Apr. 3, 6, 9, 11 at 7:30pm at the Utah Theatre (18 W Center, Logan, UT)
Performed by USU Opera Theatre students with the USU Symphony Orchestra in English with English titles
Opera Outreach Quartet
Thanks to the generosity of the Marie Eccles Caine-Russell Family, USU Opera Theatre is able to offer four scholarships for outstanding voice students to be part of the USU Opera Outreach Quartet. As their primary responsibility, the Quartet prepares and presents an educational and entertaining thirty-minute opera or musical at high schools throughout the Intermountain West. If you’d like to have the USU Opera Outreach Quartet visit your school, please contact Kate Haycock to arrange a visit!
Members of the 2025-2026 USU Opera Outreach Quartet
Kate Haycock
Kate Haycock (soprano) is a Senior Vocal Performance Major at Utah State University studying under Dr. Cindy Dewey. She recently been seen as Adina in L'Elisir d’amore, the Soprano Soloist in Handel's Messiah and an upcoming role as Papagena in The Magic Flute. She fills her time with performing as much as possible while also maintaining a private voice studio. When not performing or teaching, Kate enjoys baking any kind of treat and going on hikes with her wonderful husband.
Maiya Lloyd
Maiya Lloyd was born and raised in Herriman, Utah, and is currently a Junior in the USU Vocal Performance Program. She has been a performer all her life, and has been in large-scale productions every year since the age of six. Throughout her middle and high school years, she won the state champion title for Utah’s Solo & Ensemble competition ten separate times, four as an ensemble and six as a soloist.
She has participated in almost every USU Opera Theatre production since joining in 2023, as the Dowager Empress in Anastasia, ensemble in L’Elisir d’amore, (2024) Stage manager and double-board-operator in The Toxic Avenger, (2024) a woodsprite in Antonín Dvořák’s Rusalka, (3rd act) and most recently as La Feu in L’enfant et les sortilèges.
Holden Smith
Holden Smith, tenor, from Layton, Utah, is a senior at Utah State University studying Vocal Performance with Thomas Glenn. A crossover artist in opera and musical theatre, he has performed with Hale Center Theater, CenterPoint Legacy Theater, and The Grand Theater in Salt Lake City, including two world-premiere rock musicals by Graham Russell of Air Supply. At USU, his roles include The Prince in Rusalka, Junius in The Rape of Lucretia and Dimitry in Anastasia. This fall, he will appear as Pierre in Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812.
Johnny Richardson
Johnny Richardson is a singer and guitarist from Draper, Utah and a Junior at Utah State University (USU) and is currently majoring in both Vocal and Guitar Performance. His childhood fascination with music led to him to start playing guitar at age 8, violin at age 10, and begin voice lessons at age 14. Since then, he has also learned the piano, the bass guitar, the banjo, ukulele, and the mandolin. Johnny started performing in high school. He was a part of the Hillcrest High Vocal Ensemble, Chamber Orchestra, and the school’s theatre program, where he would play Quasimodo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Frank Sr. in Catch Me if You Can. Since attending Utah State, he has studied under Grammy Award winning tenor Thomas Glenn. Johnny’s recent roles at USU include La rainette in Ravel’s L’enfant et les sortilèges, Collatinus in Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia, and Anatole in Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812. He has also recently played the role of Bardolfo in Verdi’s Falstaff at Lyrical Opera Theatre. He is honored to be a part of the Opera Quartet this year!
Highlights from Past Productions
Ghost Quartet - Spring 2022
Director: Dallas Aksoy
Scenic/Costume Designer: Dennis Hassan
Lighting Design: Hannah Whorton
Photographer: Anthony Messler
Cast/Orchestra pictured: Taylor Stucki, Patrice Densley, Gideon Benge, Hayden Höglund, Jeremy Adriano, Megan Richards, Becca Palmer
Uncovered - Spring 2022
Orpheus in the Underworld - Spring 2021
Director/Scenic Designer: Dallas Aksoy
Costume Designer: Jordan Draper
Choreographer: Stephanie White
Photographer: Anthony Messler
Cast pictured: Kristen Fairbourn, Brianna Skeen, Kaylee Borchert, Zack Grob, Tanner Pruett, Layton Loucks, Demetria Torowus, Maribelle Taylor, Joshua Rogers, Hayden Höglund, Collin Crook
L'incoronazione di Poppea - Fall 2020
Director: Stefan Espinosa
Scenic Designers: Dennis Hassan, Hannah Whorton
Costumes Designer: Alex Heder
Videographers: Michael Palmer, Anthony Messler
Photographer: Dallas Aksoy
Cast pictured: Patrice Densley, Josh Roy, Hayden Höglund, Kaylyn Baldwin, Tanner Pruett, Danielle Casós, Rachel Grob, Elisabeth Kinghorn, Zack Grob, Abbigayle Dennis, Lauren Tougas, Joshua Rogers
Dido & Aeneas - Spring 2018
Director/Choreographer: Nate Dryden
Scenic/Costume Designer: Dennis Hassan, Sara Shouse
Lighting Designer: Bruce Duerden
Photographer: Andrew McAllister
Cast pictured: Benjamin Krutsch, Becca Keel, Carly Schaub, Peter Larsen, Megan Warburton, Karley Garrett, Andrew Taylor, Nathan Scott, Sariah Seare, Danielle Casós, Amanda Strasbourg, Rachel Grob, Lauren McCurdy, Abbigayle Dennis, Allison Klippel
La finta giardiniera - Spring 2017
Director: Daniel Helfgot
Scenic/Costume Designer: Dennis Hassan
Wig/Makeup Designer: Sara Shouse
Lighting Designer: Keith Carson
Photographer: Andrew McAllister
Cast pictured: Benjamin Krutsch, Rebecca Soelberg, Andrew Taylor, Nicole Vander Does, Emily Cottam, Amanda Strasbourg, Brad Summers
