About
SFLO South Florida Lyric Opera
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SFLO enters into its 7th season after successful productions of Strauss' Die Fledermaus, Leoncavallo's Pagliacci, Trial by Jury (Gilbert & Sullivan), Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, one-acts Bastien und Bastienne by Mozart and Prima La Musica by Salieri, and Le Villi by Puccini. In addition to stage productions, SFLO maintains a lecture series, aimed at public education, and offers workshops and private coaching from its experienced staff. While the company has historically focused on Opera and classical music, it will be expanding to include a variety of performing arts projects in 2023-2024, including theater and film. Performances will also be presented in Texas and Louisiana.
SFLO was born with the aim to give professionals a home to explore their craft in an ever changing, modern era. The company's passion is derived from a commitment to producing high quality shows that speak to the present day, its diversity and varying genres. SFLO proudly highlights local talent while featuring guest artists from around the nation. SFLO's talented team of directors, performers, musicians and staff ensure whether in the audience or on stage it's "Your Time to Shine".
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Our Team
Beth Lucey - artistic director, performance coach (opera, musical theater, theater): Working in music and theater in the Tampa Bay area for the past decade, Beth encountered a host of talented colleagues from across the nation who provided her with inspiration for SFLO. Prior to landing in Tampa, Beth served on the adjunct voice faculty for Loyola New Orleans and New York University where she also received her Undergraduate and Master’s degrees in voice and theater performance, respectively. She has performed as a lyric soprano extensively in opera & musical theater including season appearances with New York City’s Opera Mobile, headed by Arlene Saunders, The Frederick Loewe Theater under the direction of Greg Ganakis, and on tour with SSMA summer music festival in Siena, Italy led by Anastasia Tomasewska-Schepis. Notable roles have included Nedda (Pagliacci), Countess (Le Nozze di Figaro), Fiordiligi (Cosi Fan Tutti), Rosalinde (Die Fledermaus), Marguerite (Faust), Carrie (Carousel), Vicki (A Grand Night for Singing), Alice (You Can't Take it With You). Locally, she performed several seasons with Opera Tampa, under the late, great conductor Maestro Anton Coppola and with St. Petersburg Opera under the baton of esteemed Maestro Mark Sforzini. Beth has directed and co-directed numerous shows for SFLO and offers private voice and performance workshops locally.
Ben Spierman - director, performance coach (opera, musical theater, theater): Ben began his professional life working across the country as a Stage Manager and Assistant Director, working for Central City Opera, Indianapolis Opera, Light Opera Oklahoma, Mississippi Opera, Mobile Opera, Opera Theater of Saint Louis, Palm Beach Opera, Rogue Valley Opera and Virginia Opera. Most notably, he was the Assistant on Saint Louis’s Lewis and Clark Bicentennial premiere production of Dream of the Pacific and on Central City’s American premiere production of Britten’s Gloriana. As a director, his work includes critically acclaimed productions of both familiar and unfamiliar pieces. The former are represented by productions of Madama Butterfly and The Merry Widow (Indianapolis Opera), Turandot and Don Giovanni (Dayton Opera), Amahl and the Night Visitors (Opera Company of the Highlands) and Tosca and The Pirates of Penzance (Imperial Symphony Orchestra); the latter by critically acclaimed New York premiere productions of Kirke Mechem’s The Rivals, Vaughan Williams’s The Poisoned Kiss and the Weber/Mahler posthumous collaboration Die Drei Pintos, all for Bronx Opera (of which he is Associate Artistic Director and Resident Stage Director). He is also Resident Stage Director of Long Island’s North Shore Music Festival and a sought-after dramatic coach. He has worked with singers at the Westchester Summer Vocal Institute (NY), the Buck Hill-Skytop Music Festival (PA) and the Opera Breve Vocal Intensive (TX), in addition to coaching privately. He resides in The Bronx, New York.
Dr. Sarah Klopfenstein - artistic consultant, associate director, voice coach (opera, musical theater, classical voice) - Dr. Klopfenstein is an active performer both in opera and concert settings. She sings locally with SFLO, Opera Tampa and St. Petersburg Opera, most recently appearing in the title role of Pinnochio. This past season she appeared in numerous concerts and productions throughout the Boston area, and with the Lexington Philharmonic in Barber's A Hand of Bridge. She was also honored to perform in the world premiere of Southern Crossings at Columbia University in New York City. As a trained mezzo soprano, she has previously performed roles with Nashville Opera, Opera New Jersey, Kentucky Opera, and Cincinnati Opera. Klopfenstein holds a Doctor of Musical Arts in Voice Performance from the University of Kentucky, where she wrote A Performance Guide on Fauré’s La chanson d’Ève, Op. 95. She also holds a Master of Music in Voice Performance from the same institution, and a Bachelor’s of Music in Voice Performance from Texas Christian University. Dr. Klopfenstein joined the adjunct voice faculty at USF in the Fall of 2020 where she teaches private voice for undergraduate students. A much sought after instructor, she also heads a private voice studio for children and adults alike in Wesley Chapel, FL.
Stephanie Claire - performance coach (film, theater, musical theater): After completing her degree in theater from Loyola New Orleans, Stephanie launched a career in film and theater. She is a member of SAG and AFTRA and has been seen in television and movies alike. Her most notable work on the big screen was in Monster's Ball (2001), A Murder of Crows (1998) and Haunted History (1998). Her work in television spans two decades as she watched her native New Orleans become an epicenter for her passion, and studios sprout up in her backyard. Most recently, she spent several seasons as the handwriting specialist on American Horror Story, at the Second Line Stages studio. As a stage actress, Stephanie has performed at Rousell Hall, Marquette Theater, and the Lower Depths Theater. She is also an accomplished singer and has performed her musical theater and cabaret act around the New Orleans circuit, including the historic Columns hotel. She currently performs in a duo with her boyfriend David, a veteran New Orleans musician and former member of the popular Klezmer All Stars.
Alfred Gratta - performance coach and accompanist (classical music, opera, musical theater): Fred completed his bachelor’s degree at the Cleveland Institute of Music in 1987, where he was a student of Stephen Geber. In 1988, Fred Gratta received an invitation from Lynn Harrell to join his studio at the University of Southern California (USC), where he completed the Advanced Studies Program and his master’s degree in 1991. Upon graduation from USC, he accepted a one-year contract (1991-1992) to perform with the Orquesta Sinfonica de Tenerife in the Canary Islands as violonchelo solista (principal cello). He became a member of The Florida Orchestra in 1994 and was appointed by Music Director Jahja Ling to serve as assistant principal cello from 1995 through 1997. Fred Gratta is currently the president of the Greater Pinellas Music Teachers Association, a member of the artistic staff of the Pinellas Youth Symphony, and principal cellist of the Saint Petersburg Opera Orchestra. Recent appointments include principal cello of the Tampa Bay Symphony (2012/2013), assistant principal cello at the Classical Music Festival in Eisenstadt, Austria (2008 and 2011), section cello at the Bellingham Festival of Music (2009-present), and adjunct faculty at Eckerd College (January 2014) and State College of Florida (September 2011).
Kevin Rouchell - performance coach (opera, musical theater): Kevin holds music degrees from Loyola University New Orleans and the Manhattan School of Music. He has been on stage in over 400 productions in the United States, Austria and Switzerland. Rôles sung include Albert in Albert Herring, Beppe in Pagliacci, Tamino in Die Zauberflöte, Camille in Die lustige Witwe, Tonio in La fille du régiment, Alfredo Germont in La traviata, Don José in Carmen, Danieli in Les vêpres siciliennes and Steve Hubbel in the European première of André Previn’s A Streetcar Named Desire. He has sung comprimario rôles in the German language première of Die Nase (Dmitri Shostakovich), the Austrian première of Alfred Schnittke’s Russian opera Leben mit einem Idioten, directed by the late Boris Pokrovsky and performed the rôle of Settembrini for the world premiere and recording of Robert Grossmann’s Der Zauberberg in Switzerland. He has had the pleasure to work under the direction of conductors Laurent Wagner, Maurizio Barbacini and JÄrí Kout and most recently made his debut with Mobile Opera as Fabrizio in The Light at the Piazza. Notable recital work includes tenor solos in Stravinsky’s Les noces, the Mozart Requiem, the Verdi Requiem, Gounod’s Messe solennelle, Saint-Saëns’ Christmas Oratorio, Haydn’s Theresienmesse and Handel’s Messiah. Kevin is a native of New Orleans, LA.
Greg Gowins- IT, marketing, social media: Greg has worked over 20 years as an IT consultant and online media expert, most notably with the consulting group Media Sourcery. His professional career has covered projects across the nation with a variety of businesses, including a long standing relationship with CCS Medical (Clearwater, FL) on their diabetes supply line. He is an ambassador for Media Sourcery at the yearly Amazon Conference in Las Vegas, NV, where he's been honored by Jeff Bezos as a top winner in the chicken wing eating contest. Greg is thrilled to join SFLO, as his love of the performing arts peaked when working on assignment in Verona, Italy. There, he attended large scale Opera productions at the spectacular Arena di Verona which still stands as the largest outdoor arena in the world. Greg is a native of Texas and currently resides in Dripping Springs, TX.