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).  

In the 2024-25 season Vanessa looks forward to debuting with Chicago Opera Theater as the title role in Leonora, conducted by Dame Jane Glover. She also makes her Alice Tully Hall debut with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center followed by a return to LA Opera to portray Nuria in Golijov’s Ainadamar. On the operatic stage Vanessa will revisit the roles of Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro and Norina in Don Pasquale, in addition to joining the Madison Symphony Orchestra for their holiday program and the Boise Phil as the soprano soloist in Mozart’s Requiem.

The previous season included role debuts as Adina in L’elisir d’amore (Minnesota Opera) and Norina in Don Pasquale (Opera Omaha & Lakes Area Music Festival). She returned to the role of Zerlina in Don Giovanni (Arizona Opera), and joined 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 as well as collaborating with Green Lakes Music Festival and Opera Edwardsville for their respective summer concerts.

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.

On the concert stage, she debuted with the newly formed San Antonio Philharmonic. She has made role and house debuts at the Metropolitan Opera, Intermountain Opera Bozeman, Austin Opera, and Opera Parallèle, and has returned to Washington National Opera for Sankaram’s Rise (Alicia Hernández), part of the world premiere tetralogy Written in Stone. Additional recent appearances include those at Opera San José, Arizona Opera, St. Croix Valley Opera, Fort Worth Opera, Washington National Opera, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, the Glimmerglass Festival, and Atlanta Opera.

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.

Photo credit: Coco Jourdan