Producing for stage & Radio

Clara the Rococo Rockstar Rhino

March 2026 Reading & Guild Preview

The first table reading is scheduled for March 2026 and a preview selection has been prepared for the St. Petersburg Opera Guild

Cast for Table Reading

When Nancy Preis, who first encouraged this work heard the cast list for our first table reading she gasped!  Oh …  Royalty!

Emily Lusk
as the eponymous rhinoceros

Emily Lusk began her musical journey in Mineola, NY and continued by earning her Bachelor’s Degree in Choral Music Education at Florida State University (FSU) where she had her first taste of opera serving as a supernumerary in Rossini’s La Cenerentola. Rossini remains her favorite composer. At FSU she studied with Daniel Belcher, Mary Hangley, and David Oakerlund.

Emily has sung in the opera chorus with St. Pete Opera since 2016 and has also performed as Amahl in Amahl and the Night Visitors. In addition, she has premiered the role of Fidelito in The Triumph of Spring by Dewey Davis-Thompson and Chris Romeo.

Michelle Rego
Maria Teresa

Michelle Rego is a pianist, organist, lyric soprano, and choral conductor who has been active in the Tampa Bay music scene for over 30 years. Currently the Director of Liturgy and Music at Saint Mary, Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church, she is also a performing member of the St. Petersburg Opera Company and Opera Tampa. Michelle serves as a guest conductor/clinician and consultant to choirs, churches, and other performing ensembles.

Maija Currie
as the Baroness

Since moving to Pinellas County in 2021 with her family, soprano Maija Lisa Currie has performed locally with St. Petersburg Opera Company , New Century Opera, Opera for Earth, South Florida Lyric Opera, and as soprano soloist at both St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church in St. Pete and Hyde Park Presbyterian Church in Tampa. This 2025-2026 season she is performing with New Century Opera on their “Swords, Sandals & Scandals” concert as well as Aida, both performed in Tarpon Springs; with St Pete Opera as a featured soloist at the New Tampa Performing Arts Center, and as a featured soloist at SPO’s annual seasonal show Holiday Sparkle at the Palladium, and as The Mother in a local production of Amahl and the Night Visitors with her daughter singing Amahl.

Last season with St Pete Opera, she covered the lead role of Desiree in Sondheim’s A Little Night Music as well as being a featured soloist at Bella Voce and at Holiday Sparkle, and sang in New Century Opera’s concert “Opera’s Greatest Villains”.

She has performed internationally with Opernhaus Zürich, Indianapolis Opera, Kentucky Opera, Mobile Opera, Dicapo Opera, Spoleto Festival USA, Panama City Symphony Orchestra, Brevard Philharmonic Orchestra, Operetta Sirnach, Kulturzentrum Lagerhaus Bremen, Fritztheater Bremen, and the Zürcher Festspiele. Roles performed include Violetta, Manon, Gretel, Pamina, Susanna, Zerlina, Papagena, Tytania, Miss Wordsworth, Mabel, Adele, Valencienne, and many others. She also sings concert and oratorio repertoire, has been involved in several new opera workshops and premieres, and premiered a song cycle, Angel Songs, written for her by Benjamin C.S. Boyle.

Ms. Currie studied with the late Virginia Zeani and the late Paul Kiesgen at Indiana University where she completed a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance, as well as a Performance Diploma. She completed a Master of Music in Vocal Performance at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University while studying with Phyllis Bryn-Julson. She made further vocal studies in New York City with Joan Patenaude-Yarnell and role studies with Martina Arroyo, and was a member of the young artist programs at Opernaus Zürich, Indianapolis Opera, Music Academy of the West, Dicapo Opera, the Britten-Pears Festival, Brevard Music Center, and Opera in the Ozarks.

Maija is also a Florida licensed life insurance agent as well as a voice teacher here in Pinellas County. If you need either of those services, she’s happy to help new clients or take referrals.

Kevin D. Mitchell
as Douwe

Born and raised in Houston (Texas), Kevin Mitchell became a resident of St. Petersburg in 2017. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Sam Houston State University and a Master’s in Opera Performance from Wichita State University, (where he studied with Samuel Ramey and Alan Held). Kevin is a staff singer with St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church in south St. Pete and has sung with the St. Petersburg Opera Company since 2019. With SPO, Kevin has covered the roles of “Jupiter/ Apollo” in Handel’s Semele , “Spoletta” in Puccini’s Tosca, “Jaquino” in Beethoven’s Fidelio, and “Little Bat” in Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah. In addition, he has performed the roles of “Geppetto” and the “Narrator” in John Davies’ Pinocchio, “Normanno” in Lucia di Lammermoor, “Elder Gleaton” in Susannah and is a singer with the Holiday Sparkle ensemble. Also singing with Afro Opera, Opera Tampa, Palma Ceia United Methodist Church, Trinity Lutheran, and the Cathedral Church of St. Peter, Kevin feels very fortunate and blessed to be able to share his passion and craft with the Tampa Bay community.

CJ Jackson
as Augustus

CJ Jackson began his musical journey at a young age and is currently a senior at Saint Leo University, where he will graduate in May 2026 with a Bachelor of Arts in Marketing and Music. At Saint Leo, he has studied vocal performance with Cynthia Selph, Chris Romeo, and ChulYoung Kim, developing both his artistry and academic foundation. Throughout his collegiate career, CJ has embraced a wide range of musical opportunities, including the honor of performing at the Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall. 

In addition to his performance work, CJ serves as a Marketing and Social Media Intern with St. Pete Opera, where he combines his passions for music and strategic communication. Deeply committed to both artistic excellence and community engagement, he is grateful to continue growing as a performer while contributing to the vibrant arts community in the Tampa Bay area.

Rim Karnaviches
as King Frederick

Rim Karnavicius is no stranger to the SPO audience having appeared in over 50 opera productions since 2006. Rim most recently appeared in the Opera Tampa production of The Shining and is a staff singer at the Cathedral of St. Peter in downtown St. Petersburg. He will be on the Palladium Stage again in the upcoming SPO production of La Boheme and is thrilled to collaborate with Dewey and Chris once more.

John Short
Stench

Lyndsey Clopton
as Marie Antoinette

Lyndsey Clopton is a Florida native and graduate of the University of South Florida, where she earned her Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance. As a versatile mezzo-soprano, she has performed with St. Petersburg Opera Company, Opera Tampa, South Florida Lyric Opera, and Chicago Summer Opera. Her operatic credits include Sally in A Hand of Bridge, Jacquot in Pierrette et Jacquot, Damon (cover) in Acis and Galatea, Mrs. McLean (cover) in Susannah, and the Composer in Ariadne auf Naxos. She also performed internationally in Assisi, Italy as part of the Assisi Music Festival. A former resident artist with St. Petersburg Opera Company (2021–2025), Lyndsey has appeared as a featured soloist in numerous productions. In addition to her performance career, she has over 10 years of teaching experience in voice, guitar, piano, and ukulele, working with students in both private and group settings.

Tim Burnaman
Accompanist

Tim studied piano, percussion, and voice at Louisiana State University. While at LSU he was a musician in many productions including the opera La Boheme.

Tim was a piano accompanist for the University of South Florida School of Dance and the Pinellas County Center for the Arts. He currently provides daily music enrichment programs for senior communities in Tampa Bay and Sarasota.
 
Tim is the Pianist/Choir Director at the Jewish Congregation of Venice. He is the accompanist for St Petersburg’s One City Chorus. Tim is a composer and his song Standin’ For Justice Today was recently performed by the chorus at the Palladium Theatre. Tim has also performed a concert of all original music titled Love, Blues, and Blessings
 

Dewey Davis-Thompson
Book & Lyrics

Dewey Davis-Thompson  is a playwright and lyricist in St. Petersburg, Florida. His song Holiday Sparkle with composer Chris Romeo is often performed by St. Petersburg Opera, and their operetta Triumph of Spring premiered at freeFall’s Tandem series. Their short musical meiuqeR: A Tragedy in Reverse premiered at St. Pete Opera’s Creative Collaborations in 2017.

Dewey’s other plays include Sunshine City, The Musical with composer Tom Sivak which had a staged reading at Opera Central, Gasparilla Queen and  The Manatee’s Tale of Extinction at StageWorks, and the spooky radio drama The Tocobaga Bargain on WMNF’s Soundstage. He also co-wrote and produced two seasons of Cosmic Significance  sci-fi comedy on WMNF with Elizabeth Brackman. 

Dewey performed with St. Petersburg Opera in Turandot, Carmen,  Samson & Delilah, and Seasonal Sparkle, and he covered the part of Pasha in Abduction From the Seraglio. He can be heard on-air as several recurring characters in the sci-fi series Patch and Click Rebooted and as Sam Sonic on Cosmic Significance.

He is a founding board member of several organizations: Voices for Children, Sustany Foundation, and  Heroes of the St. Pete Police and Fire. Dewey is an advisory board member of the USF St. Petersburg Creative Writing Program, and an innuagural inductee of the USF/Poyntner St. Petersburg CIty of Writers.

Visit Davis-Thompson.com for additional details and contact information.

Chris Romeo
Music & Lyrics

Chris Romeo has been passionate about music since the sixth grade. He discovered his true voice while studying at the University of South Florida, where he earned both his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Vocal Performance. A dedicated performer and educator, Chris is currently the Artistic Director of Diversity: The Voices of Sarasota and One City Chorus of St. Pete. He also serves as a Professor of Voice and Music at St. Leo University and Hillsborough Community College. He also performs regularly with the St. Pete Opera Company and Klassika.