Paulo was born in Costa Rica and moved to Australia at age 16. He holds a Bachelor of Social Science at the University of New South Wales. His two main passions in life are opera and golf, but he also enjoys drama, literature and history. He has played golf since age 8, and has been fortunate enough to have won a few international amateur tournaments, as well as represent Costa Rica in four World Championships. However, it's opera he can't live without. Paulo’s favorite composers are Verdi, Puccini and Wagner but he really loves all styles. Nothing beats live opera performance and he tries to attend about 15-20 performances a year, mostly at Opera Australia. Paulo has gone above and beyond the call of duty for The Opera Insider. Never more than a few hours have ever passed between my email to him and his response to me. From moral support to detailed excel spreadsheets, Paulo has helped us enormously.

Sarah is a Sydney-based opera critic, blogger and inveterate diva worshipper. Born and raised in Dunedin, New Zealand, she moved across the Tasman in search of a much needed opera fix and shows no sign of leaving. Her reviews are published in NZ O

Linda’s career spans across the public and private sectors. She is a Justice of the Peace and serves as a non-executive Director/Trustee on a number of Boards. She spent 17 years working for North American banks, latterly as a senior manager for the Royal Bank of Canada and Manufacturers Life. She helped establish a number of new organizations in the NHS, firstly in Bristol, and then in London. From the role of Director of Contracts and Information for University College London NHS Hospitals Trust. In 1994, Linda became Chief Executive of one of the country's largest primary care Multifunds in East London, and was then appointed Chief Executive of the Newham Primary Care Group, which won the first national Primary Care Group of the Year award. Linda is a trained opera singer and is completing an OU Classics Degree.

An opera lover from the moment he saw a production of Faust in 1957, Richard has been writing general music criticism since 1978. Beginning in British Columbia he wrote for a number of publications and in 1985 he moved to Ottawa, Ontario, where he contributed regularly to the Ottawa Citizen. In 1993 he became the Citizen's principal music critic.

John is a traveling Management Consultant by day and a newly obsessed opera lover by night.  After dividing his time between work, spouse and dog John spends his time listening to opera, reading librettos online, and stalking opera folk on Twitter.  He recently spent several months obsessively compulsively working his way through The Ring Cycle, and is now applying this OCD to other operas as he expands his horizons.

Jessica Slatkoff Arteaga is an L.A. based certified Nutritional Counselor and Health Coach, trained at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in New York, and a member of the American Association of Drug-free Practitioners (AADP). She works with clients from all over the world in person and via Skype to help them become healthier and happier by guiding them through positive diet and lifestyle changes. As an active soprano, Jessica maintains a regular performing schedule. Her most recent appearance was in August of 2011 as Adina in Donizetti's L'Elisir d'Amore with Miami Lyric Opera.

Ilana Walder-Biesanz fell in love with opera when she saw The Magic Flute at the age of thirteen. She has since seen nearly 50 operas and become the president of the opera club at Olin College of Engineering, where she is a junior majoring in Systems Engineering. She is particularly fond of Verdi and Donizetti. A soprano, she studies voice with the wonderful Andrea Matthews. She speaks Spanish, Japanese, Italian, and German and is addicted to the types of melodramatic books and plays that inspire tragic operas (e.g., Carmen, The Lady of the Camellias, Hernani, Love and Intrigue, Werther).

Marjorie Smith is a writer, editor, actress and opera nut. She discovered opera as a child in Montana when the filmed version of Tales of Hoffman came to town. Four years in San Francisco provided an inspiring introduction to live opera and she has been an avid supporter of the Intermountain Opera since she returned to settle in her home town.

Cally loves to tell a great story, no matter the client or the subject. She began her career behind the curtain at Pittsburgh Opera, and over the years has helped artists, authors, entrepreneurs, non-profits and global corporations refine their messaging and communicate their greatness. She writes nationally about art, food, celebrities and fashion for FORUM Magazine. See more of her artful writing at www.cjvcommunications.com

Meche is a dyed-in-the-wool Manhattanite with a permanent lease on a balcony box at the Met. Her day job is psychoanalysis. She sings but says you wouldn't want to hear it. When not at the opera, you could find her at a lieder recital or the theater.