Resident Artist Program
Inaugurated in the 2016-2017 season, the Resident Artist Program launched Lyric Opera of Kansas City’s first true Resident Company. Artists are chosen following a series of local and national auditions. During their residency, in addition to appearing in mainstage roles, the Resident Artists work with visiting guest artists, conductors, and directors, participate in master classes and career coaching, study leading roles, and make musical appearances in the community. The Resident Artists also receive training in acting, movement, and stage combat. The Resident Artists have completed their post-graduate education and may have some professional experience.
Resident Artists Program is sponsored by The Estate of Richard Hill, Charter Sponsor of the Resident Artists Program, The Ingram Family Foundation, and a generous Anonymous Donor.
2022-2023 Resident Artists
Krista Renée Pape, Soprano
Soprano Krista Renée Pape made her professional debut in 2020 as Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute with Opera North. In 2019 she made her role debut as Konstanze in The Abduction from the Seraglio (Opera in the Ozarks), and her virtual debut as Gilda in Rigoletto in 2021 (MIOpera). She has won prizes from The Metropolitan Opera Laffont National Council, National Society of Arts and Letters, MIOpera Vocal Competition, Lewisville Lake Symphony International Competition, Pasadena Vocal Competition, top prizes in the MTNA Young Artist Performance Competition in Voice, and the Tuesday Musical Club Young Artists Competition. Pape graduated with a Master of Music in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Houston. She was a Vocal Institute Fellow at the Music Academy of the West in summer 2022.
Aubrey Odle, Mezzo-Soprano
Returning for a second season as a Resident Artist with Lyric Opera of Kansas City, mezzo-soprano Aubrey Odle’s upcoming roles this season include Mercédès (Carmen), Flora (La traviata), and returning to the Lyric’s annual production of Amahl and the Night Visitors as Mother. Other notable roles include the title role in Carmen, Mistress Quickly (Falstaff), Gertrude (Roméo et Juliette), and La Zia Principessa (Suor Angelica). Odle was recently featured as a soloist with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, performing Beethoven’s Mass in C. In recent years, she has won accolades from the Houston Saengerbund Awards, Orpheus Vocal Competition, American Prize, and the Utah Opera AriaFest. She is a graduate of Utah State University (B.M.) and Brigham Young University (M.M.).
Wayd Odle, Tenor
Tenor Wayd Odle returns for a second season as a Resident Artist with Lyric Opera of Kansas City. This season he will perform as Remendado (Carmen), Gastone (La traviata), King Kaspar (Amahl and the Night Visitors), and Delbert Grady (The Shining). He will cover Don José (Carmen) and Alfredo (La traviata). Past seasons have seen him employed by Wolf Trap Opera, Opera Omaha, and Knoxville Opera. Notable roles include Rodolfo (La bohème), Don José (Carmen), and Nemorino (The Elixir of Love). He was a soloist with National Symphony Orchestra, Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, Utah Philharmonic Orchestra, and Atlantic Music Festival Orchestra. He is winner of The American Prize Award (2021) and earned an Encouragement Award at The Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition (2020). He won the Utah Philharmonic Concerto Competition (2022) and was a semi-finalist for the Orpheus Vocal Competition (2022).
Luke Harnish, Bass-Baritone
Bass-baritone Luke Harnish earned degrees from Vanderbilt University and Wichita State University. Notable roles include Papageno (The Magic Flute), title role in Eugene Onegin, Walter Beech and Roy McPhetridge (world premiere of Staggerwing), Jailer (Tosca), and Henry B. (The Mother of Us All). Harnish has performed on the stages of Nashville Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Opera Neo, and Opera Kansas. Concert credits include Bach’s St. Matthew Passion and Vaughan Williams’ Serenade to Music. In summer 2022, Harnish was a studio artist with Chautauqua Opera and is a 2022 district winner of The Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition.
Joseph Park, Bass-Baritone
Bass-baritone Joseph Park is a recent graduate of the University of Kansas (M.M.). Notable roles include Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), Don Alfonso (Così fan tutte), Friar Lawrence (Roméo et Juliette), Colline (La bohéme), and Simone (Gianni Schicchi). Park was the first prize winner of the Southern Illinois Young Artist Organization Vocal Competition and received the Encouragement Award at the Metropolitan Opera Laffont competition. He has also earned prizes at the Yangsan Eum Jung Huang Vocal Music Competition and Ewha & Kyunghyang Concours. He has appeared as a soloist in Fauré’s Requiem, Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms, and Mozart’s Coronation Mass. Park attended Aspen Music Festival in 2022 as a Studio Artist.
James Li, Coach Pianist
Pianist James Li is from Hong Kong, currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Piano Performance at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) under the guidance of the 2013 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition third prize winner, Sean Chen. He received his Master of Music from UMKC and his Bachelor of Music from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Li has participated in masterclasses with Jerome Lowenthal, Margo Garrett, Frank Huang, Michael Stern, Nina Schumann, Luis Magalhães, Eckart Runge, Jacques Ammon, Read Gainsford, Brendan Kinsella, Jerome Rose, and Jeffery Savage. Li has competed in various competitions including the MTNA Young Artist Performance Competition. He was winner of the 2017–2018 University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Concerto Competition and the 2021 Kansas City Sigma Alpha Iota Competition. He currently holds a graduate assistantship and serves as a vocal collaborative pianist at UMKC.
