A Madison Symphony Christmas

Peruvian & Mexican-American soprano Vanessa Becerra is a graduate of LA Opera’s prestigious Young Artist Program praised for her “bold and bright” singing (Opera News), “full, beautifully focused” instrument (Wall Street Journal), and “charismatic and eloquent” presence (San Francisco Chronicle).  

The upcoming season includes role debuts as Adina in L’elisir d’amore (Minnesota Opera) and Norina in Don Pasquale (Opera Omaha & Lakes Area Music Festival). She returns to the role of Zerlina in Don Giovanni (Arizona Opera), and joins the Phoenix Symphony as the soprano soloist in Handel’s Messiah. In the summer she returns to Opera Theater of St. Louis to sing Maria Celeste/Eos in Philip Glass’ Galileo Galilei.

In the 2022-23 season Vanessa debuted the roles of Marie in La fille du régiment (Minnesota Opera), Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro (Opera Omaha), Carolina in El matrimonio secreto (Florida Grand Opera), Despina in Così fan tutte (Opera Theater of St. Louis) and Juliette in Roméo et Juliette (Boston Lyric Opera) for which she received praise from the Boston Globe for her “clarity, luster, and charisma”. She revisited La mujer in El Milagro del Recuerdo (Houston Grand Opera) and debuted with the San Antonio Philharmonic under the baton of Kazem Abdullah singing Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 and Mozart’s Bella mia fiamma. Last summer she joined Madison Opera and Madison Symphony Orchestra for their annual Opera in the Park celebration with maestro John DeMain.

In the 2021-22 season Vanessa returned to Washington National Opera to create the role of Alicia Hernández in Kamala Sankaram’s RISE, part of the world premiere tetralogy Written in Stone, and debuted with Austin Opera as Marzelline in Fidelio, Opera Parallèle as Belle in Philip Glass’s La Belle et la Bête, Intermountain Opera Bozeman as Rosina in The Barber of Seville, the Metropolitan Opera as Naomie in Cinderella, and Arizona Opera as the title character in the world premiere of The Copper Queen by Clint Borzoni and John de los Santos, adapted as a full-length feature film shown in movie theaters. In concert she debuted with Minnesota Opera for Ópera Afuera at Allianz Field conducted by Miguel Harth-Bedoya, the Virginia Symphony as the soprano soloist in Handel’s Messiah, returned to Fort Worth Opera as a soloist and co-curator for Entre Amigos, a celebration of Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month, joined Aural Compass Projects in their New Works, New Voices concert, and premiered two song cycles by Mexican composer Jorge Sosa at NYC’s Opera America.

In the 2019-20 season Vanessa made her Kennedy Center debut with Washington National Opera as Zerlina in Don Giovanni, as well as her debut with Houston Grand Opera as La mujer in the world premiere of El Milagro del Recuerdo receiving respective accolades for her “clarion soprano”, “lithe sound”, and “crystal-clear” tone. The previous season Ms. Becerra enjoyed a hugely successful summer debuting Maria in Francesca Zambello’s production of West Side Story at the Glimmerglass Festival. Described as “the show’s anchor” who achieves “unmatched poignancy” her performance led to a string of reprisals at Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Atlanta Opera, and furthermore made her international debut in the role with the Liepāja Symphony Orchestra in Latvia. In 2018-19 Ms. Becerra joined the roster of the Metropolitan Opera for their productions of The Magic Flute and Iolanta and returned to Opera Omaha for her highly acclaimed portrayal of Lise in Philip Glass’s Les enfants terribles.

The 2017-18 season saw numerous debuts for Ms. Becerra with exciting companies such as the LA Phil under the baton of Gustavo Dudamel (Papagena/Die Zauberflöte), San Francisco Symphony with Michael Tilson Thomas (Paquette/Candide), Lyric Opera of Chicago (Miss Lightfoot/Fellow Travelers), Opera Delaware and Baltimore Concert Opera (Sophie/Werther), Opera Omaha (Glauce/Medea), and Atlanta Opera (Johanna/Sweeney Todd). Following her debut with Opera San Jose as Musetta in La bohème she returned as the title role in Alma Deutscher’s celebrated Cinderella with Jane Glover on the podium (currently distributed via Sony Classical on DVD). For her performance Operawire stated, “Soprano Vanessa Becerra sings Cinderella with vivacious, ardent and luminous voice, coasting through the various musical moods the young composer has set for her with ‘elan’ and great warmth.” 

During her time with LA Opera, appearances included Barbarina in Le nozze di Figaro, Papagena in Die Zauberflöte, Annina in La Traviata, Gossip 2 in the Grammy Award-winning recording of The Ghosts of Versailles (all with maestro James Conlon), and in concert as a featured soloist with bass-baritone Erwin Schrott. Ms. Becerra enjoys a long relationship with the Glimmerglass Festival where in 2017 she returned as a guest artist to portray Laurey in Oklahoma! receiving praise for her “silken soprano” and “lilting radiance”. This followed her two summers in their young artist program where she portrayed Musetta in La bohème (“a scene-stealing minx with a glorious soprano voice”), and Pamina in their Young Artist Performance of The Magic Flute. 

     Ms. Becerra’s professional debut came in 2014 with Fort Worth Opera in the world premiere of With Blood, With Ink. She “brought passionate theatrical intensity to Young Juana” (Wall Street Journal) and her “sunny, youthfully appealing soprano created an irresistible characterization” (Opera News). Shortly following her debut, Ms. Becerra received her master’s degree from The Boston Conservatory, which invited her as a featured alumna to perform in their 150th Anniversary Gala at Boston’s renowned Symphony Hall. 

     Other training programs include the Wolf Trap Opera Company, Des Moines Metro Opera, and the Seagle Festival. She received her bachelor’s degree from Texas Christian University as a Nordan Full-Tuition Scholarship recipient and is a proud graduate of the Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts. Ms. Becerra is passionate about volunteer service and has built a network of serving those in need in Houston, TX, Silver Spring, MD, Madison, WI, Chicago, New York City, Los Angeles, and her hometown of Fort Worth, TX.

Baritone Craig Irvin brings a vibrant sound and commitment to character to each role he portrays. Opera News has hailed his “rich, resonant baritone” while the Dallas Morning News has celebrated his “truly commanding baritone”. The 2017-2018 season included singing Dominik and covering Mandryka in Arabella with Canadian Opera Company, Handel’s Messiah with the Jacksonville Symphony, Britten’s War Requiem with Music Worchester, Stubb in Moby Dick with Utah Opera, Dandini in La Cenerentola with Opera Orlando, and Frank in Die Fledermaus with Des Moines Metro Opera. The 2018-2019 season saw the revival of his Dan Packard in Dinner at Eight with the Wexford Festival, Lt. Horstmayer in Silent Night with Austin Opera, Valentin in Faust with Opera Omaha, and Rachmaninoff’s The Bells with the Portland Symphony. This season includes returns to Minnesota Opera as Orest in Elektra and Utah Opera for a reprise of his Lt. Horstmayer in Silent Night.

Other recent engagements include Lieutenant Horstmayer in the world premiere of Kevin Puts’ new opera Silent Night with Minnesota Opera and subsequent performances with Opera Philadelphia, Fort Worth Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, and Atlanta Opera. Additionally he has sung Count Almaviva in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro and Zurga in Les pêcheurs de perles with Utah Opera, Dan Packard in Dinner at Eight, Mandryka in Arabella, and Peter in Hänsel und Gretel with Minnesota Opera, made his role debut as Macbeth with LoftOpera, sang Escamillo in Carmen with Fort Worth Opera, debuted with Sarasota Opera as Marcello in La bohème and Anchorage Opera in the title role of The Mikado, sang Pirate King in The Pirates of Penzance with Nashville Opera and Pensacola Opera, made his role debut as Dandini in Pensacola Opera’s La Cenerentola,  and performed the Villains in The Tales of Hoffman and Leporello in Don Giovanni with Wolf Trap Opera.