Christen May Mayer
Lyric-Coloratura soprano Christen May Mayer is an Oklahoma and Florida based artist active in opera, music theatre and arts outreach. She was a recent Arkansas District winner of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition and is a current Education Committee Artist with Painted Sky Opera. Christen earned her Master’s of Music in Opera Performance from Oklahoma City University (2024) under Dr. Autumn West. Since then, Christen has performed as Sieglinde (Die Walküre) with Dramatic Voices Midwest, Pamina (Die Zauberflöte) with Opera DeMetro, Berta (Il barbiere di Siviglia) with First Coast Opera, First Witch (Dido and Aeneas) Opera Kansas and has covered Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni) with Painted Sky Opera, Clotilde (Norma) with New Jersey Opera Theatre, and Monica (The Medium) with Bold City Opera. Christen is excited to debut with Cimarron Opera this summer as Patience and her additional upcoming engagements are Zweite Dame (Die Zauberflöte) with Opera Arlington and covering Leonore (Fidelio) with Sotto Voce.
Kasey Dillon Yeargain
Singer, Actor, Composer, Kasey Dillon Yeargain has performed all across America with his “strong vocals” and “masterful portrayals.”Notable performances include Edward Ruttledge in 1776 at Wichita Grand Opera, the title role in Don Giovanni at Lawrence Opera Theatre, Zuniga in Carmen at Tulsa Opera, Guard 1 in Dead Man Walking at Des Moines Metro Opera, Jud Fry in Oklahoma! At Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma, El Gallo in The Fantasticks at Festival 56, Miles Gloriosus in A Funny Thing Happened on The Way to the Forum with City Rep, and the title role in Sweeney Todd at Seagle Music Colony. This season Kasey will reprise the role of Jud Fry in Oklahoma! With TPAC Presents. An accomplished composer, his most recent composition The Dust Bowl Radio Hour: A New Musical has just released a concept album on all streaming platforms. @KaseyDillonMusic
Sarah Spurlin
Sarah Spurlin, soprano, earned her Master’s of Music at the Eastman School of Music. There she played Madame Lidoine in “Dialogues des Carmélites” and Enyo in Nkeiru Okoye’s “We’ve Got Our Eye on You." She played Casilda with Cimarron Opera in “The Gondoliers”, featured in the 50th anniversary concert, and was in the chorus for Pirates of Penzance. Behind the scenes, she serves as an outreach artist running opera club at the Norman Adult Wellness and Education center and participating in the AWEpera Chorus, and is the summer operetta camp director. She attended the University of Oklahoma where she earned her Bachelor’s of Music in voice performance. While there she played Le Coq in “The Golden Cockerel” and performed a wide range of repertoire from Mozart, to Janacek, to Argento, and Ticheli. She appears regularly with OK City Opera and is an adjunct instructor at the University of Central Oklahoma.
Natasha Naik
Natasha Naik is a soprano originally from Edmond, OK. Notable roles include Amanda in In the room women come and go. Talking of Michelangelo with Maddalena/Mad Margaret/Duchess in Cimarron’s 50th Anniversary Concert, Inez in The Gondoliers (Cimarron Opera), Mad Margaret in Ruddigore (Cimarron Opera), Fenena in Nabucco (Opera Ithaca), Scribe/Maria Maddelena in Galileo Galilei (Cincinnati Conservatory MainStage), Dorabella in Così fan tutte (University of Oklahoma), Mercédès in Carmen (Cincinnati Conservatory French Opera Gala). She holds a Master of Music in Voice from the College Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati and a Bachelor of Music in Voice (summa cum laude) from the University of Oklahoma. In addition to her work as a performer, she is the Programs Manager for Cincinnati Song Initiative and the Stage Director for Cimarron’s Opera Camp.
Taylor Reich
Taylor Reich is thrilled to be joining Cimarron Opera in his first operetta! Previous roles include Mr. Banks in “Mary Poppins”, Claude Frollo in “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” and Hercule Poirot in “Murder on the Orient Express”.
Jarrett Cox
Jarrett Cox is a tenor from the Oklahoma metro area and elementary music teacher in Norman. In the past Jarrett studied with Dr. Barbara DeMaio and Dr. Mark Johnson. He has been in multiple productions but some of his favorites are “Die Fledermaus,” “Orfeo ed Euridice,” “The Gondoliers,” “Notes on Viardot,” and “The Judgement of Paris.”
Annie Elliott
Annie Elliott is a local musician who holds a bachelor's in Vocal Performance from Houston Christian University, followed by a Master of Music in Opera Performance from the University of Oklahoma. A light lyric soprano voice that exudes brightness with a distinctive ping, Annie expertly emotes music of many styles. She is currently a staff soprano at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in downtown OKC. This is Annie's third season with Cimarron and she is so thankful to spend another summer with them; previous Cimarron appearances include Gallantry (Lola); The Gondoliers (Fiametta); The Pirates of Penzance (chorus). Other notable roles include The Golden Cockerel in The Golden Cockerel (OU), Mrs. Fiorentino in Street Scene (Varna International- Bulgarian Premier), The Nightingale in L'enfant et les Sortilèges (Varna International), featured off stage solo in La Rondine (Varna International). Outside of performing she can be found out in her garden wrangling feral cats and attending her local knitting circle. She would love to thank Cimarron Opera for their continued support and friendship, she enjoys every moment spent working with this community and hopes you all enjoy the show.
Marcy Gonzales
Marcy Gonzales hails from Blanchard, OK, and studied vocal performance at the University of Oklahoma. She has performed several roles with Cimarron Opera, and is thrilled to have the opportunity to do so once again. Over the years, Marcy has had the joy of playing some wonderful characters on many different stages both at home and abroad. Some of her credits include: Dame Quickly (Falstaff), Carmen (Carmen in Concert), Malika (Lakme), Ruggiero (Alcina), Mother (Amahl and the Night Visitors), Hansel (Hansel and Gretel), Mad Margaret (Ruddigore), Ruth (Pirates of Penzance), Nettie Fowler (Carousel), Marmee (Little Women), Mrs. Potts (Beauty and the Beast), Nancy (Oliver!), and most recently Mother Superior in Sister Act the Musical at the Sooner Theatre. When Marcy isn’t kicking her heels up on stage, she can be found leading the musical worship at the St. Luke’s Asbury campus.
Kayla Marshall
Kayla graduated from the University of Oklahoma with her bachelor’s in vocal performance in 2022. She has been an active member of Cimarron since 2018 as a camper, performer and employee.
Karena S. Van Horn
Native Oklahoman Karena S. Van Horn is thrilled to be making her operatic debut with Cimarron Opera as Lady Jane in the 2026 production of Patience. A sfogato soprano known for the exceptional versatility of her instrument, Karena is an active soloist across the Oklahoma City Metro Area and can be most often seen performing opera in unexpected places, from patisseries to coffee shops and beyond. In addition to her singing pursuits, she has also premiered three original works in as many years, the most recent being last year with OKC's Theatre Crude Fringe Festival: the multimedia, stage-combat-featuring, play-with-music extravaganza entitled Pirates & Clerics & Rangers, oh my!
Alix Golden
Alix Golden is so excited to be a part of this fantastic show! Previous credits include Hal/Lady Carnarvon in How to Write A Regency Romance (Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park), Agnes in She Kills Monsters (Carpenter Square Theatre), Ivy in Mother Road and Charwoman in Lyric’s A Christmas Carol (Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma), Peter Quince in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Queen Elizabeth in Shakespeare in Love (Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park), Rachel Brown in Inherit the Wind (3rd Act Theatre Company). She received a Gem Award for playing Lala Levy in The Last Night of Ballyhoo (Jewel Box Theatre). Alix earned her BFA in Theatre from Adelphi University.
Pat Meirick
Pat Meirick has appeared in Cimarron Opera’s productions of Ruddigore (Despard, Old Adam), The Gondoliers (Don Alhambra, Duke of Plaza-Toro), Pirates of Penzance (Major General, Ensemble), Patience (Major Murgatroyd), HMS Pinafore (Carpenter’s Mate), and Iolanthe (Private Willis). He has also appeared locally in Carpenter Square Theater’s Clever Little Lies (Billy), Namron Theatre’s Spots and Stripes (King Zutan), and Poteet Theatre’s To Kill a Mockingbird (Atticus). Other credits, from his teens and 20s in his native Minnesota, include The Mikado (Mikado), The Fantasticks (Matt), Once Upon a Mattress (King Sextimus), You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown (Linus), and Angel Street (Inspector Rough). He also co-founded an improv group at Carleton College. He is a professor in OU’s Department of Communication. He and his wife, Christina McDougall, have two grown children, Ian McDougall and Lor Meirick, who are both alumni of Cimarron Opera Camp.
Braden Henson
Braden Henson is a recent environmental sustainability graduate from the University of Oklahoma. He greatly enjoys performing in any sort of theatre he can when his schedule aligns and had a wonderful time playing Frederic in The Pirates of Penzance with Cimarron last year. Some of his favorite activities when not performing include being outside, reading, eating lettuce, and being employed.
Piper Allred
Piper Allred is a singer and actress from Edmond, Oklahoma. She graduated with her B.M. in Vocal Performance from the University of Oklahoma in 2020 and received her M.A. in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in May 2023. She is thrilled to be working with Cimarron Opera again this summer! Previous credits with Cimarron Opera include The Gondoliers (Gianetta), Ruddigore (Zorah), An Extremely or Extraordinarily Pleasant…Trip to the Museum (Soprano 1), Sunday Excursion (Alice), and H.M.S. Pinafore (Chorus).