About Us
Enrich, Elevate, Explore
Amelia Island Opera (AIO), an artist-led company, was founded in 2021 by opera singers Victoria Isernia, Robyn Marie Lamp, and John Tibbetts II. When these three talented vocalists found themselves grounded as the COVID-19 pandemic froze everyone in place, they made their way to Amelia Island, Fla. There, they found an arts-friendly community hungry to welcome more classical vocal music to Northeast Florida. Early performances were greeted with great enthusiasm. The three founders recognized a need to create opportunities not only for themselves but also for other world-class emerging artists. Amelia Island offers a perfect place, given the number of arts & culture organizations supported by the community. AIO seeks to:
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Enrich the cultural fabric of the greater Amelia Island community
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Elevate the voices of artists
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Explore alternative mediums of performance
In our third season (2023-2024), AIO presented nine incredible musical programs, launched several educational initiatives, including children's story time, opera and voice lectures, and in-school performances, participated in multiple community events, such as Dickens on Centre, Shrimp Fest, etc., featured the talents of over 157 talented individual singers, instrumentalists, performers, and artists, and partnered with three new venue spaces.
AIO is a 501(c)(3) non-profit arts organization. Contributions for the charitable purposes of Amelia Island Opera are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.
Victoria Isernia
Executive Director & Co-Founder
Italian-American soprano Victoria Isernia is a multifaceted artist and arts leader equally at home in opera, operetta, and musical theatre. A co-founder of Amelia Island Opera, she has been instrumental in growing the company’s presence in Northeast Florida while maintaining a thriving private voice studio on Amelia Island. A passionate educator and community advocate, Isernia has championed opportunities for world-class emerging artists and has worked to expand the cultural landscape of the region. A graduate of the prestigious Manhattan School of Music, she studied under the esteemed Maitland Peters and began her career as both a performer and teaching artist in New York City before relocating to Florida.
Celebrated for her rich, sultry voice and “engaging” stage presence (Utah Theatre Bloggers), Isernia’s 2025–2026 season includes her mainstage debut with First Coast Opera as Pitti-Sing in The Mikado and the role of Dinah in Trouble in Tahiti with Amelia Island Opera. The 2024–2025 season featured two role debuts: Judith in Bluebeard’s Castle with Bold City Opera and Hansel in Hansel & Gretel with Amelia Island Opera. Other recent highlights include Musetta in La Bohème, Mrs. Nolan in The Medium, and Autumn in John De Los Santos’ Service Provider, directed by the librettist himself.
From 2020 to 2023, Isernia was a Resident Artist with Utah Festival Opera & Musical Theatre, where she performed roles such as Carmen (Carmen), the Third Lady (The Magic Flute), Ilona (She Loves Me), Bet (Oliver!), and Mrs. Gibbs (Our Town). At the Manhattan School of Music, she appeared as Dido (Dido & Aeneas) and Nerone (L’incoronazione di Poppea), directed by Catherine Malfitano, as well as in Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen.
A dedicated interpreter of Gilbert & Sullivan, Isernia has performed Pitti-Sing (The Mikado), Lady Jane (Patience), and Tessa (The Gondoliers), alongside extensive scene work including Cherubino (Le Nozze di Figaro), Dorabella (Così fan tutte), Mercedes (Carmen), and the Third Woodsprite (Rusalka). She made her Lincoln Center debut under Maestro Alan Gilbert with the New York Philharmonic in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and has also appeared in numerous musical theatre productions, including Disney’s Beauty & the Beast (Belle), Bye Bye Birdie (Kim), Hairspray (Velma Von Tussle), The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Rona), and Company (Sarah).
Robyn Marie Lamp
Board Secretary & Co-Founder
Soprano Robyn Marie Lamp is a multifaceted artist and arts leader whose work spans performance, administration, and community engagement. She is the co-founder of Amelia Island Opera, Executive Director of the Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival, and from 2015 to 2019, she served as Company Manager for Ft. Lauderdale’s Opera Fusion. She is also a selected participant in the 2025–26 Leadership Nassau program through the Nassau County Chamber of Commerce. Through these roles, Ms. Lamp is dedicated to creating opportunities for world-class emerging artists and enriching the cultural fabric of the greater Amelia Island community.
Acclaimed for her “radiant pianissimos,” “silvery soprano timbre,” and “soprano star quality,” Ms. Lamp has earned praise for the “supple delicacy of phrase” and “bell-like high As, Bs, and Cs out of some celestial sphere” that define her performances. She has sung leading roles including Donna Anna (Don Giovanni), Mimì (La bohème), Tosca (Tosca), Clotilde (Norma), Julia Child (Bon Appétit!), Lucrezia (Lucrezia Borgia), Suor Angelica (Suor Angelica), and Adele (Il pirata).
Her concert work includes Verdi’s Requiem at Carnegie Hall, Vaughan Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem (her Carnegie Hall debut), Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Egmont, and Sechs Lieder von Gellert, Handel’s Messiah, Mozart’s Requiem, and Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915. She has appeared with Boston Lyric Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Opera Tampa, Winter Opera St. Louis, Sarasota Opera, Opera in Williamsburg, Gulfshore Opera, Palm Beach Symphony, South Florida Symphony, Seraphic Fire, and Orchestra Miami, among others.
Ms. Lamp has earned first place in the D’Angelo Young Artist Vocal Competition and the Lois Alba Aria Competition, as well as recognition in the Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition, the Gerda Lissner International Vocal Competition, Opera Tampa’s competition, and the Soma International Foundation.
John Tibbetts
Artistic Director & Co-Founder
Baritone John Tibbetts is a multifaceted artist and arts leader serving as President of the Board, Artistic Director, and co-founder of Amelia Island Opera, where he has helped grow the company into a hub for mainstage operas, innovative concerts, and educational programming across Northeast Florida. Dedicated to expanding opportunities for artists and audiences alike, Tibbetts has built Amelia Island Opera’s reputation on artist-driven productions that blend traditional repertoire with fresh, accessible performance formats.
Praised for his “unexpectedly rich voice” and “reverberating tones” (Palm Beach Post), Tibbetts has performed with organizations including Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Opera Atelier, Annapolis Opera, First Coast Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Palm Beach Opera, Sarasota Opera, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Richmond Symphony, Opera Grand Rapids, and Hawaii Performing Arts Festival. In the 2024–25 season, he made his Annapolis Opera debut as Barone Douphol in La Traviata, stepped in as Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia with First Coast Opera, and performed Sharpless in Madama Butterfly with Amelia Island Opera under the baton of Keith Chambers.
An accomplished recitalist and concert soloist, Tibbetts has appeared in Carmina Burana and Britten’s War Requiem with the American Festival Orchestra and made his international debut as Adam in Angel with Opera Atelier in Toronto.
He holds degrees from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (MM) and Georgia State University (BM).