Meet the Cast of Tosca

AIDAN ANDERSON

Bio coming soon.

STEPHEN CUNNINGHAM

Dr. Stephen Cunningham, native of South Texas, is a bass-baritone who has experienced international success performing in opera and oratorio. Most recently, Stephen performed the role of Balthazar in Amahl and the Night Visitors with Fargo-Moorhead Opera in 2025. He has sung principal roles with Minnesota Opera, Florentine Opera, La Musica Lirica, Opera Orvieto, Journey North Opera Company, the Kurt Weill Honorarium, Oratorio Society of Minnesota, Twin Cities Community Outreach Opera, Russian Seasons in Minnesota, and Mill City Summer Opera. He has sung as soloist with Gethsemane Episcopal Cathedral, Kenwood Symphony Orchestra, St. Rita Catholic Church Performance Arts Series, Graceland University, and Valley City State University, where he is currently on faculty as Assistant Professor of Voice and Opera.

Stephen’s operatic roles include: Balthazar in Amahl and the Night Visitors, Dulcamara in L’elisir d’Amore, Don Bartolo in Le Nozze di Figaro, Benoît in La bohème, Don Magnifico in La Cenerentola, Jimmy in Mahagonny Singspiel, Bonze in Madama Butterfly, Don Annibale in Il Campanello, Escamillo in Carmen, Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Don Alfonso in Cosi fan tutte and Commendatore in Don Giovanni, as well as the titles roles in Falstaff, Gianni Schicchi and Le Nozze di Figaro. In 2016, Stephen premiered the roles of Prince Abdul and the Captain in Sister Carrie with Florentine Opera, available on Naxos Records. He also premiered the role of Secretary of Defense in The Manchurian Candidate with Minnesota Opera in 2015. Stephen has workshopped numerous operas including The Shining, The Manchurian Candidate, Memory Boy and Doubt with Minnesota Opera, Sister Carrie and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Dead with the University of Minnesota, as well as Sister Carrie with Florentine Opera.

He holds a performance and pedagogy degree from Oklahoma State University (MM) and vocal performance degrees from the University of North Texas (BMA) and University of Minnesota Twin Cities (DMA).

MATTHEW DRYBURGH

Fargo-Moorhead Opera debut. Theatre Fight/Intimacy Direction Actors Theatre of Louisville: Louisville//KY//USA; Theatre B: Frankenstein, Perfect Arrangement, Pride and Prejudice, Romeo and Juliet, The Lifespan of a Fact, Five Lesbians Eating a Quiche, Mr. Burns, a post-electric play; FMCT: All Childish Things, A Few Good Men; Theatre NDSU: Dracula, Twelfth Night, How I Learned To Drive, ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, Little Women, Company, The Crucible; Concordia College: Oklahoma. FILM: Medora: Empress of the Badlands. TRAINING: B.F.A. Performance: Directing, North Dakota State University; Advanced Actor Combatant, Society of American Fight Directors.

CHRIS FISTONICH

Baritone Chris Drago Fistonich is a PhD Immunologist and cybersecurity researcher turned opera singer. Chris has been hailed as a "voluminous, beefy baritone" with "supple variation of dynamics" (South Florida Classical Review), as a “strong baritone” (Schmopera), and has “impressed with a rich, juicy lyric baritone and energetic acting” (Parterre Box).

Chris is excited to perform with Fargo-Moorhead Opera again, having recently joined them as Talpa in Il Tabarro and as Barol Douphol in La Traviata. Other recent engagements include Silvio in Pagliacci, Sharpless in Madama Butterfly, Escamillo in Carmen, Baron Scarpia in Tosca, Marcello in La Bohème, Count Monterone in Rigoletto, and the title role in Don Giovanni.

An avid composer, Chris wrote and premiered a new opera, The Enigma of Amigara Fault, with librettist Robert Feng, in 2026.

Originally hailing from Los Angeles, California, Chris received his Bachelor of Science degree in Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics in 2012 from the University of California, Los Angeles. After graduating from UCLA, Chris attended Yale University, earning a Ph.D. in Immunobiology in 2018. Chris teaches Microbiology at NDSU while working for cybersecurity company Malwarebytes, and currently resides in Moorhead, Minnesota, with his wife Stephanie and two cats.

AMY HELMS

Amy Helms is an intuitive, dynamic, and joyfully collaborative stage director from Cincinnati,Ohio. Her recent directing work spans educational outreach and cabaret programming with Opera in the Ozarks and Indianapolis Opera. At Opera in the Ozarks, this past summer she assistant directed Candide and Suor Angelica/Gianni Schicchi, while also directing the educational tour of Monkey See, Monkey Do! During the 2025–26 season, she served as Resident Assistant Director and Production Coordinator with Indianapolis Opera. She is returning this season to assistant direct La traviata, after assisting on Rigoletto, Amahl and the Night Visitors, and Le nozze di Figaro last season. Previously, Amy served as an Apprentice Stage Director with Opera Neo, assisting on Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore and Haydn’s Armida.

Amy’s directing work also includes Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice at Florida State University, her culminating thesis project for her Master of Music in Opera Production, as well as educational outreach productions of The Magic Flute and Abrazo de Oso. Across her work, she is passionate about creating generous, collaborative rehearsal rooms and vivid theatrical worlds that place character and storytelling at the center of opera.

HEATHER HJELLE

Dramatic soprano Heather Hjelle, hailing from Barrett, Minnesota, is a dynamic and commanding presence on the operatic stage. Currently under contract with Fargo-Moorhead Opera, Hjelle continues to captivate audiences, most recently earning high praise for her star turn in the title role of Tosca. Critics lauded her performance, noting, “The show is a star turn for Heather Hjelle. She sings with easy power and range, but also a vulnerability...Hjelle alone would be worth the price of admission...”

Celebrated for her powerful, expressive instrument and dramatic versatility, Hjelle’s extensive repertoire features a litany of opera's most demanding dramatic heroines, including Giorgetta (Il Tabarro), Turandot, Gioconda, and Suor Angelica. Her momentum continues into the season with a major upcoming highlight: collaborating with renowned pianist John Parr to perform Brünnhilde’s formidable Immolation Scene from Götterdämmerung for Lieder Alive.

Hjelle holds a Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance and has studied under Luana DeVol. Alongside her performing schedule, she shares her expertise as a sought-after vocal coach and serves as the Voice Teaching Specialist at the University of Minnesota Morris, mentoring the next generation of classical vocalists.

HANNAH OVERBEY

Bio coming soon.

ANTHONY ROHR

Tenor Anthony Rohr is a versatile performer of opera, musical theatre, and contemporary styles. Recent performances include singing as the Song Seller in Puccini’s Il Tabarro with FM Opera; playing Prince Dauntless in Mary Rodgers’ Once Upon a Mattress with Badlands Opera Project; Pulitzer in Alan Menken’s Newsies with Stage West; and as a featured soloist with the FM Symphony.

Spolleta will be Rohr’s third appearance with FM Opera. Additional companies and festivals he has worked with include Opera North in Lebanon, NH; Cedar Rapids Opera in Cedar Rapids, IA; Lake George Music Festival in Lake George, NY; and the Lyric Opera of Kansas City.

Based in Fargo, Rohr is a music instructor at Concordia College and North Dakota State University.