2023 Gate City Bank Young Artists

Soprano Lisa Buhelos joins Fargo Moorhead Opera as a 2023 Gate City Bank Young Artist, singing the role of Musetta in Puccini’s beloved La bohème & a principal role in Everything Comes to a Head - a part of the Young Artist Production titled Love Bites.

Lisa is a recent graduate of the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana where she received her master’s in vocal performance and literature. Buhelos has been a Festival Artist at Opera Saratoga, where she portrayed Quiteria in Don Quixote at Camacho’s Wedding, covered the role of Aldonza in Man of La Mancha, and was featured in the Knight at the Opera and Quixotic Opera concerts. Buhelos has also been seen in Lyric Theatre @ Illinois’ productions of The Adventures of Little Sharp-Ears as Sharp-Ears and Ordinary Days as Deb. Other performances include Fun Home (Allison/Middle Allison Cover), Crazy For You (Margie/Polly Cover), La bohème (Ensemble), Pirates of Penzance (Ensemble), and the workshop of Take Flight (Brenda).

She has participated in the American Institute of Music in Graz, where she was a soloist for the AIMs Festival Orchestra and Operetta Concerts.

"Tiffanie is simply a treasure on stage. Her acting is incredibly detail- orientated and her voice flawlessly rich and beautiful."- Theater Arts Alliance

Tiffanie Trujillo is an American soprano and Master of Music from Manhattan School of Music. She is the recipient of merit-based scholarships and winner of multiple singing competitions.

Ms. Trujillo will make her company debut with Opera Modesto in 2023. Most recently, she has sung the title character in Suor Angelica as an Emerging Artist with Seagle Festival in July 2022. Roles she has performed completely and partially include Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier, Micaëla and the title role of Carmen, Countess Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro), Marguerite in Gounod’s Faust, Magda Sorel (The Consul), Mimì (La bohème), Suzel (L’amico Fritz), and Dido (Dido and Aeneas) to list a few. Most recently, she covered the soprano solo for the North American debut of Requiem for the Fallen at New York's Zankel Hall with Lyrica Classic Entertainment. In 2016, she made her European performance debut with concerts in the Marche and Emilia-Romagna regions of Italy.

She is a freelance artist and maintains a private voice studio both online and in-person.

Meredith Smietana, mezzo soprano, originally hails from Buffalo, New York. Meredith is a graduate of The Mannes School of Music, where she received her Master’s in Vocal Performance. Meredith has participated in the Chautauqua Voice Program for four seasons.

Previous roles include Mutter (Hansel und Gretel) Orfeo (cover) Monitress (Suor Angelica) Alma March (Little Women) and Dido (Dido and Aeneas).

Meredith most recently joined the Chautauqua Opera Company in The Mother of Us All where she is sang the role of Isabel Wentworth and covered Indiana Elliot.