Maelstrom - The Zombie Opera

Conceived a decade ago, after multiple live productions, the studio album for Maelstrom has arrived!

To learn more about the history and future of the show, visit the Maelstrom page.

Sample Recordings 

The Cast

Jocelyn Claire Thomas (Anna)

Jocelyn Claire Thomas, a versatile soprano praised for her haunting sound and musical intelligence, is a frequent performer in opera, concert, and recital. Jocelyn has appeared with Tacoma Opera, Eugene Opera, Opera Bend, Brava Opera Theatre, The Astoria Music Festival, Bravo Northwest, The Bremerton Symphony, Cascadia Chamber Opera, The Bach Cantata Choir, Opera Theater Oregon, Portland Concert Opera, The Beaverton Symphony, Necessity Arts Collective, Ping & Woof Opera, Cult of Orpheus, and Portland Summerfest. Ms. Thomas holds a B.M. from the Oberlin Conservatory, a M.M. from the Peabody Conservatory, and a G.P.D., from the Peabody Conservatory. Jocelyn is based in Portland, Oregon where she maintains a private studio in voice, piano, and flute. For more information, please visit www.jocelynclairethomas.com.

Zachary Lenox (Jeremy)

Viewed as "a broad, resonant baritone that is exquisitely controlled throughout his entire range," Zachary Lenox has performed leading roles across North America. Notable roles include "Silvio" in Pagliacci, "Marcello" in La Boheme, "Marullo" in Rigoletto, "Count Almaviva" in Le nozze di Figaro, "Guglielmo" and "Don Alfonso" in Cosi fan tutte, "Papageno" in Die Zauberflöte, "Father" in Hansel and Gretel, "Sid" in Albert Herring, "Gianni Schicchi" and "Betto" in Gianni Schicchi, and "Dick Deadeye" in H.M.S. Pinafore.

Mr. Lenox has appeared with Portland Opera, Eugene Opera, Tacoma Opera, Opera Parallèle, Opera Bend, Pacific Music Works, Cascadia Chamber Opera, Portland Summerfest, Portland Chamber Orchestra, Portland Concert Opera, Ping & Woof Opera, Eugene Concert Choir, Bravo Northwest, and the Astoria Music Festival.

Concert appearances include Bass Soloist in Handel's Messiah and Judah Maccabeus, Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass, Schubert's Mass in G, Mozart's Requiem, Verdi Requiem, Faure Requiem, Orff's Carmina Burana, Bach's Coffee Cantata, Bach's Christmas Cantatas, and BWV 56.

Zachary recently won the Pacific Northwest Sings competition, and is also a past winner of the MONC Idaho/Montana District Auditions. He received his B.M. and M.M. from the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam.

Upcoming engagements include "Featured Soloist" in Mahler's Lieder eines fahrenden gesellen with the Central Oregon Symphony and "Bass Soloist" in Mozart's Notturni with Chamber Music Northwest.

Eric Smedsrud (Bryan)

Eric Smedsrud, baritone, grew up in Eden Prairie, MN and currently lives in Saint Louis Park. He received his Bachelors of Music from Lawrence University in Vocal Performance and his Masters of Music from Indiana University, also in Vocal Performance. While at Indiana University, Eric performed the roles of Abdul in Menotti’s rarely performed The Last Savage, Joseph De Rocher in Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking and Sharpless in Giacomo Puccini’s Madama Butterfly.

Professionally, Eric has sung with companies such as the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and Charlottesville Opera, where he will return this summer, performing Escamillo in Brook’s La Tragedie de Carmen (an abridged version of the Bizet classic), and covering Sir. Lancelot in Lerner and Loewe’s Camelot. Recently he was seen in Artistry MN’s production of Victor/Victoria as Squash Bernstein.

Outside of singing and performing, Eric Smedsrud enjoys staying active by lifting weights, running, playing basketball, and biking. He is an avid fan of Minnesota’s professional sports teams.

Nelle June Anderson (Claire)

Nelle June Anderson is an opera singer, actor, and composer based in Minneapolis. In 2020, she will tour with the MN Bach Society and internationally-acclaimed Ensemble Caprice, singing Ramiro in Matthias Maute's reconstructed version of Motezuma (Vivaldi). Last year, she was an Artist-in-Residence at the Center for Performing Arts, where she composed art-pop interpretations of Bellini, Debussy, and Poulenc vocal works, and starred in American Tender, Indie Vision Award winner at Twin Cities Film Festival 2018, for which she also sang the score. Nelle recently represented the MN Bach Society at the St. Paul Music Crawl and performed leads in Orpheus in the Underworld (Gilbert and Sullivan Very Light Opera Company), Il Matrimonio Segreto (Oberlin in Italy), and Fauré's Requiem (Bard College Conservatory, The Conductors Institute). She won First Prize in the Schubert Club Annual Scholarship Competition in 2014. Nelle graduated with honors and a Bachelor of Arts in Music—Classical Voice from Bard College, where she studied with Ilka Lomonaco, Rufus Müller, and Dawn Upshaw. She had so much fun working with Reed and Ben to record this inventively luscious piece!!

Stream Online

Listen to the full album on your favorite streaming service below! Don’t subscribe to a streaming service? Listen on YouTube.