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Saturday, March 14, 2pm
Saturday, March 14, 7pm
Sunday, March 15, 2pm
The Halton Theater
"Carmina Burana" will be a breathtaking fusion of dance and circus arts, transforming the iconic 20th-century musical masterpiece into a fully captivating experience. Audiences will witness Carl Orff’s "Carmina Burana" brought to life through poetic, electrifying scenes of passion and emotional transcendence.
Originally choreographed to recorded music in 2015, Caroline Calouche has long dreamed of performing this work with live orchestra and choir—a vision she began exploring during the pandemic. Now, in celebration of 20 years of her artistry, over 100 performers will share the stage in a monumental collaboration. With themes that resonate deeply and energy that will leave you pulsing, this is an experience you cannot miss.
Ticket Benefits
Tier 1 | $100
- Best orchestra seating
- Invitation to the post-show reception with lead performers and the artistic team
- 2 Beer/Wine/Champagne tickets
- Commemorative gift
- Exclusive behind the scenes emails about the creative process.
- VIP Area in the lobby that you can enjoy before the show, intermission and post-show
Tier 2 | $75
- Orchestra seating
- 1 Beer/Wine/Champagne ticket
- Commemorative gift
- Exclusive behind the scenes emails about the creative process.
- VIP Area in the lobby that you can enjoy before the show, intermission and post-show
Note: Alcohol will not sold at this performance due to venue policies. The only way to enjoy a beer, wine or glass of champagne is to purchase a Tier 1 or 2 ticket.
About the Show
Artistic Leadership Team
Choreographer & Artistic Director
Caroline Calouche
Caroline Calouche began dancing in Gastonia, North Carolina, and earned BFA degrees in Ballet and Modern Dance from Texas Christian University. She studied, performed, and taught in Rome, Brussels, and Austria, completing a postgraduate choreography program at the Salzburg Experimental Academy of Dance. Returning home, she founded Caroline Calouche & Co. in 2006 and serves as director of the Charlotte Cirque & Dance Center. She has performed with the Charlotte Symphony , Tosco Music Party, One Voice and created over 100 works for the professional stage, including Carmina Burana, Lingua, Star Gazer, Clara’s Trip, Perspective, and Crossroads, blending dance and circus arts in her choreography.
Music Director, Choir Director and Conductor
Emily Urbanek
Emily Jarrell Urbanek has been Opera Carolina’s Director of Music Preparation since 2007 and recently completed her second summer as Music Director of the Janiec Opera Company at Brevard Music Center. She has served as coach, pianist and assistant conductor in companies around the United States from New York to San Diego, as well as in South Korea. She also frequently performs chamber music in the Charlotte, NC area and often plays with the Charlotte Symphony. Since 2020 she has taken the conductor’s podium for Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, as well as productions of Viardot’s Cendrillon, Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, Verdi’s La Traviata, Redler/Dye’s The Falling and The Rising, and Wang’s Scalia/Ginsburg.
Production Team
Production Manager
Hanna Atkinson
Hanna Atkinson is thrilled to join Caroline Calouche & Co. and the Charlotte Cirque & Dance Center for her second season as production manager. She previously served as calling stage manager for the 2023 production of Clara’s Trip. A Charlotte native, Hanna earned degrees in Theater Design & Technical Production and Business Administration from UNC Greensboro. Trained as a stage manager and theater electrician, she has worked with companies nationwide, including Greensboro Dance Theater, Greensboro Opera, Piedmont Opera, Toledo Opera, Opera Carolina, and the Chautauqua Opera Company & Conservatory.
Stage Manager
Valerie Wheeler
Valerie Wheeler has served as Production Stage Manager for opera companies across the U.S. including New York City Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, Portland Opera, Toledo Opera, Opera Grand Rapids, Wichita Grand Opera, Opera Cleveland, Opera on the James, and Opera Santa Barbara. Valerie is currently the Production Stage Manager & Acting Director of Production for Opera Carolina. She is thrilled to be back as the Production Stage Manager for Caroline Calouche & Co.
Orchestra Director
Teil Taliesin
Classically trained oboist Teil Taliesin forges her own musical path through skill, curiosity, and determination. An active freelancer, she performs with ensembles including the Charlotte Symphony, Rock Hill Symphony (Principal), and the International Lyric Academy, and has shared the stage with artists such as Renée Fleming, Ariana DeBose, and Ben Sollee. She co-founded and directs Phoenix Down RPG, blending music and gaming in immersive events, and is Artistic Director of Burnt Reeds. Recognized as a 2023 Emerging Creative and 2025 Charlotte Leading Lady, Teil also teaches at Winthrop University and holds degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music and University of Louisville.
CC&Co. Performers
Sarah Small
Sarah Small has been performing with Caroline Calouche & Co. and teaching at the Charlotte Cirque & Dance Center and other organizations throughout the Charlotte area since 2012. A versatile artist, she specializes in Silks, Lyra, Lollipop Lyra, and Stilts, and has also performed on Trapeze, Rope, Rope and Harness, Cube, and a variety of invented apparatuses.
Since 2015, Sarah has been a featured performer with Elevate, and more recently with The Colorful Hat Circus & Variety (since 2022) and Sigmon Theatrical (since 2023). Her work with these companies has taken her from high-end corporate events to community festivals across the Southeast. In addition to performing, she enjoys designing and creating her own costumes. Wherever she performs, Sarah strives to fly high and bring joy to her audiences.
Zoe Flowers
Zoe is a Charlotte native and began dancing at the age of 3. She trained at the Charlotte Cirque and Dance Center from ages 7-18 and has performed in several Caroline Calouche & Co. productions including Clara’s Trip, Star Gazer, Crossroads, Nightingale and NextStep.
Zoe just completed two years of full time training in the San Diego Circus Center’s Preparatory Program and 1 year at Ècole Nationale Du Cirque in Montreal, Canada. Her main discipline is dance trapeze but she has experience on several different aerial apparatuses like silks, lyra, hammock, etc.
Zoe has coached a variety of disciplines at both the San Diego Circus Center and Charlotte Cirque and Dance Center. She looks forward to continuing to work with new students throughout this year.
Eli Motely
Eli is a choreographer, dancer, teacher, and currently a MFA Degree of Dance and Choreography candidate at the University of North Carolina Greensboro. Eli holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance and Theatre and a Bachelor of Science in Civil/Environmental Engineering from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia.
After graduation, Eli relocated to Chicago and danced three seasons as a company member with Chicago Dance Crash, 2017-2020. As a solo artist he choreographed and performed his works in Chicago, Wisconsin, Norfolk, and Texas. He made his debut with CC&Co. Rouge 2024. When not dancing Eli loves to play piano, cheer on the Indianapolis Colts, and watching Parks and Recreation with his wife Christina and cat Levon.
Photos by William Fredricking
Kevin Mimms
Kevin Mimms, originally from New York City, is a dancer and aerialist whose career includes performances with Norwegian Cruise Line, Carnival Cruise Line, Cunard Line, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, and Princess Cruise Line. Credits include After Midnight (Norwegian Escape), Nutcracker Suit and Spice (Aetna Theater), Let Them Eat Cupcakes (Brooklyn Art Haus), and Lust Caution (The Red Pavilion). A graduate of Marymount Manhattan College with a BA in Dance, Kevin is trained in various dance styles, and specializes in aerial arts including silks, hoop, straps, trapeze, and rope. Kevin is thrilled to share artistry with audiences worldwide and more importantly thrilled to be a part of this incredible production.
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Soloists
Soprano
Amber Rose
Praised for her uniquely effervescent and iridescent vocal qualities, American soprano Amber Rose is rapidly establishing herself as a dynamic and versatile artist. Performing throughout the United States, she is celebrated for her stylistic range across opera, oratorio, musical theatre, and folk music.
In the 2024–2025 season, Ms. Rose made her First Coast Opera debut as the Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute, returned to Greensboro Opera as Zerlina in Don Giovanni, joined Opera Carolina as Kate Pinkerton in Madame Butterfly, and originated the role of Ruth Graham in the world premiere of The Grahams, a new opera presented by Chun University. In concert, she appeared with the Mount Pleasant Symphony as a soloist for their Land of Eire concert and performed Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms with the acclaimed Taylor Festival Choir, with whom she also recorded as a soloist in their upcoming album Pathways to Healing.
Recent seasons have featured Ms. Rose’s international debut as Olympia in Les contes d’Hoffmann at the Teatro Comunale, her portrayal of Della in The Gift of the Magi with Greensboro Opera, and her creation of new roles including Megara in House of Orpheus (Opera Carolina) and Mama in An Extra Penny (Signature Inc.). Additional concert credits include solo appearances in Mozart’s Coronation Mass and Bach’s Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme with the Masterworks Chorus of the Palm Beaches, and Bach’s Christmas Oratorio with the Taylor Festival Choir. A champion of crossover repertoire, she also performs regularly as a Celtic music artist with renowned fiddler Jamie Laval.
Ms. Rose has received recognition from numerous prestigious competitions. Most recently, she was awarded 2nd Place in the 2023 Heafner Williams Vocal Competition. She is also the 1st Place winner of both the 2022 South Carolina District of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and the Michael Ballam Vocal Competition. Additional accolades include semi-finalist placements in the SAS Performing Arts Competition (2022) and Orpheus Vocal Competition(2020), finalist honors at the NH Piccola Opera Competition (2020), an Encouragement Award from the Camille Coloratura Awards (2021), and earlier prizes including 3rd Place in the St. Petersburg Opera Guild Competition (2015) and 1st Place in the PBAU Concerto Competition (2013).
As a young artist, Ms. Rose appeared with Utah Festival Opera as First Lady in The Magic Flute, as Adele in Die Fledermaus with NH Piccola Opera and Opera Fusion, and portrayed Zerlina in Don Giovanni with NC Summer Opera. She also appeared as Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos and Le Rossignol in L’enfant et les sortilèges with the Miami Summer Music Festival.
Ms. Rose holds a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from Palm Beach Atlantic University and a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where she performed roles including Nannetta (Falstaff), Adele (Die Fledermaus), Madame Silvertone (The Impresario), and Lauretta (Gianni Schicchi)
Baritone
More info coming soon.
More info coming soon.
Tenor
Johnathan Stanford White
Tenor, Johnathan Stanford White began his Operatic studies at the College of Charleston in 2004 while working on his BA in Vocal Performance. As a celebrated young artist, Johnathan performed in many leading Operatic roles with the College of Charleston Opera/ Musical Theatre productions and was both a State and Regional Winner in several competitions. In 2011, he was selected to sing at the Jussi Bjorling Centennial Celebration at Gustavus College at the Jussi Bjorling Concert Hall. Since moving to Charlotte and joining Opera Carolina as a Resident Company Member in 2013, Johnathan has become a staple in the classical music scene. After making his Opera Carolina debut in Turandot as the Emperor in 2015, Johnathan has performed numerous Comprimario roles in productions with Opera Carolina, Toledo Opera, and Grand Rapids Opera: Carmen (2019), I Dream (2018), Le Nozze di Figaro (2018), Rigoletto (2018), Cyrano de Bergerac (2017), Fanciulla del West (2017), Cosi fan Tutte (2016), La Canterina (2016), Fidelio (2015) , Lucia di Lammermoor (2015), and Turandot (2015). Apart from his Operatic pursuits, Johnathan is also an accomplished Symphonic soloist performing: The Messiah (CSO), Saint Saens Christmas Oratorio (CSO), and The Seven Last Words of Christ (CSO). He was selected as the tenor soloist for the Andrew Lloyd Webber Requiem with the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra (2018). He most recently performed the operatic roles of Remendado (Carmen, Toledo/Opera Carolina), Jerry (Nemorino) in The Magic Potion (adapted from The Elixir of Love, Opera Carolina), as Triquet in Eugine Onegin (Opera Carolina)..
Chorus
More info coming soon.
Children's Chorus
Charlotte Youth Choir, An Arts+ Program
The Charlotte Youth Choir, an Arts+ Progam, is led by Wes Smith (Director of Music Programs and Artistic Director). The choir brings together talented young singers from across the Charlotte community.