Butler Studio alumnus Eric Taylor has performed with HGO many times, including as Gastone in La traviata, Don Curzio in The Marriage of Figaro, and Narraboth in Salome during the 2022-23 season, and as Chevalier de la Force in Dialogues of the Carmelites, First Armored Man in The Magic Flute, and Benvolio in mainstage and outdoor performances of Romeo and Juliet during the 2021-22 season. Other engagements during the 2023-24 season include performing Pinkerton with Detroit Opera. During summer 2023, Taylor joined Wolf Trap Opera in the title role of Faust. In 2022 he returned to the Santa Fe Opera to perform the role of Melot in Tristan and Isolde and cover Don José in Carmen. Taylor completed his Master of Music degree at Rice University, where he performed the roles of Sam Polk in Susannah and Tito in La clemenza di Tito. While pursuing his undergraduate degree in music at Westminster College, he performed several leading roles, including Nemorino in The Elixir of Love and Rodolfo in La bohème, in addition to appearing in Carmina Burana with Salt Lake City’s Ballet West. Taylor has participated in Apprentice Artist programs with Santa Fe Opera, Central City Opera, and Utah Lyric Opera. He was named the second prize winner in HGO’s Eleanor McCollum Competition Concert of Arias in 2021 and a semi-finalist at the Metropolitan Opera’s National Council Auditions in 2017.