Lyric Opera’s Resident Artist Program was inaugurated in the 2016–2017 season. Lyric Opera of Kansas City holds an extensive audition process to select emerging artists from around the world to participate in the Resident Artist Program. During their residency, Resident Artists appear in mainstage roles, serve as performing resources for education and community engagement initiatives, work with visiting guest artists, participate in masterclasses and career coaching, receive voice lessons and vocal coaching, and study leading roles. Resident Artists also receive training in acting, movement, and stage combat under the guidance of industry professionals. Many Lyric Opera Resident Artist alumni maintain professional careers in the industry.
Applications to Lyric Opera’s Resident Artist Program are accepted on an annual basis.
Lyric Opera’s Resident Artist Program is sponsored by the estate of Richard Hill, charter sponsor; the Ingram Family Foundation; and a generous anonymous donor.
2025–2026 RESIDENT ARTISTS
MiKayla Lynn Hatfield, Soprano
Soprano MiKayla Lynn Hatfield is a rising artist currently pursuing her Doctor of Musical Arts at Shenandoah Conservatory, studying with Nancy Gustafson. She holds a Bachelor of Music from Trevecca Nazarene University (Nashville, TN) and a Master of Music in Performance from Shenandoah Conservatory (Winchester, VA).
Praised for her expressive stage presence and vocal warmth, Hatfield has recently appeared as Alice Ford in Falstaff, Lidochka in Moscow, Cheryomushki, Eugénie in Germaine Tailleferre’s La pauvre Eugénie, and the title role in Suor Angelica. In 2022, she was selected to attend the renowned American Institute of Musical Studies (AIMS) in Graz, Austria. The following year, she was awarded the $20,000 Stephen Feinberg Scholarship by the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. In 2023, she took first place in Division II of the Shenandoah Conservatory Student Soloist Competition. Most recently, she toured Spain and Portugal with Shenandoah Opera, performing the role of Galatea in Handel’s Acis and Galatea.
During the 2025–2026 Lyric Opera of Kansas City season, she will sing the roles of Clorinda in Cinderella and Strawberry Woman in The Gershwins®’ Porgy and Bess.
Christina Grohowski, Mezzo-Soprano
Mezzo-soprano Christina Grohowski holds a Master of Music in Voice and Opera from the Yale School of Music, where she studied with Adriana Zabala. She recently appeared as Clarina in La cambiale di matrimonio, Martha in Iolanta, and Mother Goose in The Rake’s Progress with Yale Opera.
In summer 2024, she made her Santa Fe Opera debut as an Apprentice Singer, performing as Noble Orphan 3 in Der Rosenkavalier and in ensembles for L’elisir d’amore and The Righteous. She also covered the role of Flora in La traviata. Other recent performances include Yale Opera’s fall scenes program, in which she appeared as Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro, Alisa in Lucia di Lammermoor, and in Yale Opera on Broadway.
Grohowski holds a Bachelor of Music in Voice and Opera Studies from the SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Music. She has attended Houston Grand Opera’s Young Artists’ Vocal Academy, as well as Classic Lyric Arts in Novafeltria, Italy, and the Berkshires, Massachusetts.
During the 2025–2026 Lyric Opera of Kansas City season, she will sing the roles of Tisbe in Cinderella and Kate Pinkerton in Madame Butterfly.
David Pelino, Tenor
Haitian American performer David Pelino, described as having a “powerful tenor” (South Florida Classical Review), is equally at home on the concert stage, in opera, in recital, and with professional ensembles. On stage, he recently made his role debuts as Wesley Harris in the Kentucky premiere of Paul Moravec’s Sanctuary Road, and as Sam in Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah. In summer of 2025, Pelino will participate in the Bay View Music Festival, performing the roles of Booker T. Washington in Ragtime and Don José in Carmen.
In concert, his versatile instrument has made him a featured soloist in major works such as Joseph Haydn’s The Creation, G. F. Handel’s Messiah, Théodore Dubois’s The Seven Last Words of Christ, Adolphus Hailstork’s I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes, and as the Evangelist in J. S. Bach’s St. John Passion.
During the 2025–2026 Lyric Opera of Kansas City season, he will sing Nelson in The Gershwins®’ Porgy and Bess and the Ballad Singer in Of Mice and Men.
Alex Smith, Baritone
Baritone Alex Smith will begin his second year as the Resident Artist Baritone at Lyric Opera of Kansas City during the 2025–26 season. In the 2024–2025 Lyric Opera season, he performed Fiorello in The Barber of Seville and Ping in Turandot, and study-covered Figaro in The Barber of Seville.
In 2023, Smith was a Young Artist at The Glimmerglass Festival, performing in the ensembles of La bohème and Roméo et Juliette. Other recent roles include the Musiklehrer in Ariadne auf Naxos, Junius in The Rape of Lucretia, Raimbaud in Le Comte Ory, Father Trulove in The Rake’s Progress, and Marco in Gianni Schicchi. In summer of 2025, he will perform El Dancaïro in Carmen and the Sergeant of Police in The Pirates of Penzance at Charlottesville Opera.
Smith earned his Master of Music in Voice from the Yale School of Music in spring 2024, where he studied with Adriana Zabala. He holds a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from the Oberlin Conservatory, where he studied with Lorraine Manz.
During the 2025–2026 Lyric Opera of Kansas City season, he will sing Prince Yamadori in Madame Butterfly and will perform the role of the Detective in The Gershwins®’ Porgy and Bess.
Inkyo Hong, Coach-Accompanist
Pianist Inkyo Hong is a collaborative pianist and conductor and has participated in numerous operatic productions and orchestral ensembles. From 2021 to 2023, she served on the musical coaching staff at the Indiana University Opera and Ballet Theater. In 2023, she joined the Juilliard School as a studio pianist in the Pre-College, Extension, and College divisions. In the fall of 2024, she joined the artistic team for opera productions at Julliard Vocal Arts, where she is a collaborative pianist. Hong has performed at distinguished venues such as Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, the Kosciuszko Foundation, and the Peter Jay Sharp Theater at Lincoln Center.
During the 2025–2026 Lyric Opera season, Hong will serve as a Lyric Opera coach and accompanist and will be a rehearsal pianist and orchestra performer for Cinderella, Madame Butterfly, The Gershwins®’ Porgy and Bess, and Of Mice and Men.
