All Things Figaro
Exploring the operas inspired by Beaumarchais
Bass Hall
19 Grove Street
Peterborough
3:00pm
16 November 2025
Join Raylynmor for an exciting exploration of operas inspired by French playwright Pierre-Augustin de Beaumarchais, who is best known for his trilogy of Figaro plays. His works have inspired two of opera's greatest comic gems, Rossini's The Barber of Seville and Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro (coming in 2026). Don't miss this one-of-a-kind concert that explores these two beloved masterpieces and other lesser known works inspired by Beaumarchais.
Meet the Artists
Felicia Gavilanes (Mezzo-Soprano)
Acclaimed as “sensitive and impassioned” by Opera News, Italian American mezzo-soprano Felicia Gavilanes is gaining a reputation as an exciting and versatile singing actress. An Emerging Artist Alumna with Boston Lyric Opera, Felicia is a frequent performer in both mainstage and concert roles in Boston and beyond. Of her recent performance as Ino in Lord of Cries with Boston Modern Orchestra Project, which was nominated for a 2024 Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording, the Boston Globe wrote “Even better were Leah Brzyski, Rachel Blaustein, and Felicia Gavilanes as the three sisters, eerie and prophetic…” Following her 2019 performance as The Double in Paul Ruder’s The Handmaid’s Tale with BLO, the Wall Street Journal wrote “Felicia Gavilanes brought a poignant innocence to Offred in the Time Before,” and Opera Magazine praised her “touching vulnerability.” Other roles with Boston Lyric Opera include Rosina in The Barber of Seville Outreach and Rosina (cover) in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, First Bridesmaid, and Cherubino (cover) in Le Nozze di Figaro.
Felicia recently made her Jordan Hall debut as Ino in Boston Modern Orchestra Project and Odyssey Opera’s East Cost Premiere of John Corigliano’s Lord of Cries, starring Anthony Roth Costanzo, and a return to Latin America as an invited soloist with the National Conservatory Symphony Orchestra of the Dominican Republic in an evening of opera arias and duets.
Late Fall 2024 will see the release of Felicia’s first full-length album, a collaboration with pianist Jean Anderson. Felicia will next be seen onstage as Hansel in Hansel and Gretel with Mobile Opera in fall 2024.
Recent company and role debuts include Boston Modern Orchestra Project (Lulu in The Jumping Frog of Calaveras County), Salt Marsh Opera (Mercedes in Carmen), Teatro Lírico Nacional de Cuba (Dido in Dido and Aeneas), Odyssey Opera (Léœna in La Belle Hélène), Winter Opera St. Louis (Zulma in L'Italiana in Algeri), and Gulfshore Opera (Maria in Lauda per la natività).
Other operatic roles include Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Mrs. DeRocher in Dead Man Walking, Flora in La Traviata, Baba the Turk in The Rake’s Progress, Asakir in Sumeida’s Song, Tisbe in La Cenerentola, and La Ciesca in Gianni Schicchi.
Recent soloist performances include Haydn’s “Paukenmesse,” Mozart’s Coronation Mass, the Mozart Requiem, the Vivaldi Gloria, Mendelssohn's “Elijah,” an evening of Mozart with the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra, and numerous recital engagements with Boston Lyric Opera. Inspired by foreign languages and travel, Felicia has been featured in engagements from the Gran Teatro de la Habana to the Staatstheater Darmstadt to the Basilica di Santa Maria in Trastevere, Rome.
Felicia is a recipient of Berklee College’s Faculty Recording Grant, Boston Lyric Opera’s Stephen Shrestinian Award for Excellence, Opera America’s Career Blueprints grant, the Beaulieu Award in Opera, the Gallaher Award, and the Edith S. Joel Fellowship in Opera. Felicia is a recent finalist in the MetroWest Opera Vocal Competition for Emerging Artists and a prize winner of Mobile Opera’s Madame Rose Competition.
A dual citizen of the U.S. and Italy, Felicia completed her Bachelor of Arts in Italian Literature and Music from Dartmouth College. She received her Master of Music with Honors from the New England Conservatory and her Doctorate from Florida State University.
Bernardo Medeiros (Baritone)
Bernardo Medeiros, Brazilian-American Baritone, spent the 2023-2024 season performing with the Pensacola Opera as Guglielmo (Cosi fan tutte), covering Enrico (Lucia di Lammermoor) and performed Frank while covering Dr. Falke in Die Fledermaus (English). The 2022-2023 season included work with Tri-Cities Opera and Syracuse Opera as Antonio (Le nozze di figaro), King Melchior (Amahl and the Night Visitors), and Mr. Gobineau (The Medium). During the Summer of 2023, he covered the Jailer (Tosca) and the Shepherd (Pelléas et Mélisande) at Santa Fe Opera as a member of the Apprentice Singer Program. This summer, Bernardo will return to Santa Fe Opera as he performs Lackey 4 (Der Rosenkavalier), covers Fanninal (Der Rosenkavalier) and Baron Douphol (La Traviata). For the 2024-2025 season, Bernardo will perform Zuniga (Carmen) in his house debut with Nashville Opera.
The 2021-2022 season includes singing the title role in the family performance of Rigoletto at Central City Opera, and Indianapolis Opera as Masetto (Don Giovanni) and Jigger (Carousel). Bernardo also jumped in as Dottore Malatesta in Don Pasquale at BARN Opera and reprised the role at Opera Project Columbus. Over the Summer he sang Sciarrone (Tosca), Virgil Thomson (The Mother Of Us All), and covered the Sacristan (Tosca) at Chautauqua Opera.
Bernardo holds a BM in Music Education from Oklahoma State University, a Master’s Degree and Performance Certificate from the University of Houston. He performed multiple roles during his studies, personal favorites include Dottore Malatesta (Don Pasquale), Horace Tabor (The Ballad of Baby Doe), Rabbi David (L’amico Fritz), and Count Almaviva (Le Nozze di Figaro).
Since completing his studies in the Spring of 2020, professional training includes both Apprentice Artist and Studio Artist positions with Central City Opera (2021), Indianapolis Opera (2021-2022), Chautauqua Opera (2022), Tri-Cities Opera (2022-2023), Pensacola Opera (2023-2024), and will be returning to Santa Fe Opera in 2024 for his second summer.
Brendon Shapiro (Pianist)
Pianist, vocal coach, and conductor, Brendon Shapiro, is a champion of vocal music of the 20th and 21st centuries. He is passionate about the way music can help to shine a light on stories and perspectives that have not historically been represented on American stages, and he specializes in working closely with singers and composers to create performances that will communicate effectively with diverse audiences.
Brendon is a regular member of the music staff at Boston Lyric Opera where he was an Emerging Artist pianist from 2018-2020 and has served as pianist and coach for Eurydice, The Anonymous Lover, Omar, Bluebeard’s Castle, The Rape of Lucretia, Pagliacci, and Cavalleria Rusticana. He also was the pianist for BLO’s video series entitled ‘B.’ which features music written by Asian composers and/or inspired by Asian cultures, as well as the world premiere of Omar Najmi's song cycle, ‘my name is Alondra,’ as part of BLO’s Poetry in Music initiative.
Brendon is also an alumnus of LA Opera's Young Artist Program where he worked with such artists as Renée Fleming and Susan Graham and played a key role in the musical preparation for the world premiere of Matthew Aucoin's Eurydice, along with productions of La Traviata, El gato montés, La Clemenza di Tito, The Light in the Piazza, and Satyagraha. He returned to LA Opera in 2022 to work on Rhiannon Giddens’ and Michael Abels’ Omar.
Other recent productions in which Brendon served as répétiteur include Omar at San Francisco Opera, El último sueño de Frida y Diego and X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X at Opera Omaha, Awakenings and X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X at Odyssey Opera, Henry VII and Die Schweigsame Frau at Bard SummerScape Festival, La Traviata at Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra, As One at Opera Maine, La caravana de mujeres (workshop) at MASSOpera, La Clemenza di Tito at Opera Steamboat, and Tosca at the Phoenicia International Festival of the Voice.
As a conductor and musical director, Brendon helps bring new works to life at Catalyst New Music, a company he co-founded with his husband, Omar Najmi, in 2022. They have workshopped Najmi’s operas This is Not That Dawn and En la ardiente oscuridad and started an art song development program called FUSE: Collaborations in Song. Brendon has also conducted at Opera Fayetteville (Second Nature), Boston Opera Collaborative (La Rondine, The Dangerous Liaisons), and MASSOpera(Miss Havisham’s Wedding Night, The Beautiful Bridegroom) and has served as assistant conductor at Boston Conservatory at Berklee (As One, The Island of Tulipatan, Susannah).
Brendon is the Executive Director of Boston Singers’ Resource, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing classical singers with the tools they need as they pursue their careers. While at BSR, Brendon has been developing new programs designed to provide more opportunities to emerging singers in the New England area. He has been on faculty as a vocal coach at Boston Conservatory at Berklee, University of Massachusetts Amherst, The Empowered Musician, and the Boston University Tanglewood Institute, and coaches extensively from his home in Malden, Massachusetts, where he lives with his husband, tenor and composer, Omar Najmi, and his tuxedo cat Wally.