About Us

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Soprano Marcie Ley has received critical acclaim for her performances across the United States and Europe. Notable roles performed include Violetta (La Traviata), Contessa (Le Nozze di Figaro), Fiordiligi (Così fan Tutte), Antonia (Les Contes d’Hoffmann), Mimi (La Bohème), Liú (Turandot), Marguérite (Faust) and Nedda (i Pagliacci), with numerous regional opera companies in the USA, and also in Europe at The Arena di Verona in Italy, Opéra National de Montpellier in France, and in Germany with Theater Dortmund, Oper Leipzig, and the Musiktheater im Revier.

This is Marcie's 10th season with Vegas City Opera, where she currently serves as President of the Board and Director of Education & Outreach and has been lauded in roles such as her “memorable and thrilling” Magda Sorel in The Consul, and her “brilliant and complex” Elle (The Human Voice). 

She has been a competition finalist for the Metropolitan Opera National Council, the Loren Zachary Foundation, the Licia Albanese Puccini Foundation, Palm Beach Opera Vocal Competition, and the MacAllister Foundation.  Other professional credits have included Sarasota Opera’s Helen Dellera Jepson Award, and the Shoshana Foundation’s Richard F. Gold Career Grant.

Athena Mertes, Soprano, is one of the Valley’s most celebrated sopranos, whose opera and concert credits include Marie (The Daughter of the Regiment), Mimi (La Bohème), Musetta (La Bohème), Despina (Cosi Fan Tutte), Gretel (Hansel and Gretel), Lucy (The Telephone), Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Gianetta (L’Elisir d’Amore), Morgana (Alcina), Pamina (Die Zauberflöte), Abigail (The Crucible), Nella (Gianni Schicchi), Waldvogel (Siegfried) and soprano soloist in Vivaldi’s Gloria, Handel’s Messiah, Brahms Requiem, Mozart Requiem, Beethoven's 9th and Honegger’s King David. She has performed as a guest soloist with the Burbank Philharmonic, Las Vegas Philharmonic, Henderson Symphony, Opera Las Vegas, Vegas City Opera, Lexington Opera Outreach and the Southern Nevada Musical Arts Society. Some of her recent credits include Sylvia in the World Premiere of Behold the Man, Zelda in the West Coast Premiere of Ghosts of Gatsby and Alice B. Toklas in the West Coast premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon and Royce Vavrek’s 27 with Opera Las Vegas and she portrayed Mimi in Vegas City Opera’s La BoDead. 

She is also the Chorus Master of the Opera Las Vegas Youth Chorus and the Director of Choirs at Thurman White Academy of the Performing Arts where she has 400 students. In 2020, she received the Teacher of the Year Award from Magnet Schools of America and is also a National Board-Certified Teacher. In March of 2024, her Choir was  featured at the American Choral Directors Association Regional Conference in Pasadena, California and in April of 2024, her contemporary a cappella group was featured at the National Magnet Schools of America Conference in New York City.

Isabella Ivy made her professional solo debut in 1998. She performed in the Sydney Opera House in 2004, and has performed on three continents thus far. In 2014, she became a Resident artist at Opera San Jose in the role of Gilda in Rigoletto, where she also performed the role of Elvira in L’italiana in Algeri, the roles of Lillia Herriton and the Opera Singer in the world premiere of Where Angels Fear to Tread by Mark Weiser, Königin der Nacht in Die Zauberflöte, and Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro. Other roles include Elvira in Don Giovanni, Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos, Adina in L’elisir d’amore, Madame Herz in Der Schauspieldirektor, Laetitia The Old Maid and the Thief, to name a few. 

She joined Symphony Silicon Valley as the soprano soloist in Rachmaninoff’s “The Bells”, and the Merced Symphony as the soprano soloist in Orff’s Carmina Burana. She has also been a part of Target’s “Summer Pops” Concert series in San Jose.. She graduated from the UNLV honors college with a Bachelor's degree in Music Performance, and completed her Masters coursework at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. She is also active in other areas of the theater, and has worked in costuming, stage management, prop making, dance, and set design.

Miss Ivy was a semi-finalist for the Houston Grand Opera Competition, semi-finalist at the first NATS National Student Auditions, and won 3rd place at the Metropolitan Opera competition in the Colorado/ Wyoming region

Li Xiaofan, a distinguished tenor, was born into a musical family and developed a deep love for music at an early age. He began vocal studies under the guidance of his mother and aunt, later graduating from the Vocal Department of the Tianjin Conservatory of Music, where he studied with renowned bass and doctoral supervisor Professor Han Baolin. He also received mentorship from several leading figures in China’s music education community.

Li has further studied with celebrated soprano Liang Meizhen of the China National Symphony Orchestra, baritone Professor Li Xinchang, Chair of the Vocal Department at the Central Conservatory of Music, directors and vocal coaches at the China National Opera House, as well as esteemed tenor Professor Su Qingzhong of the Beijing Opera and Dance Drama Theater.

He has appeared as a soloist with the Tianhai Art Troupe and the Youth Friendship Art Troupe, and later became a principal soloist with the Tianjin Opera and Dance Theater.

In recent years, Li has been deeply engaged in the cultural life of the Las Vegas community. Through frequent performances, teaching, and outreach, he has made significant contributions to enriching the cultural experiences of the local Chinese community.