This week, the Santa Fe Opera is set to open its 2025 season with a production of “La Boheme” featuring a cast of rising stars, including Emma Marhefka, who will make an unexpected company debut.

The soprano, who was a Santa Fe Opera Apprentice in 2024, stepped in at the last minute to sing the role of Musetta, a part she has performed with the Arizona Opera. Throughout her young career, she has performed with the Opera Montana, Opera Tampa, Wolf Trap Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Kentucky Symphony, and the Ocean City Pops.

In 2024, as part of the Santa Fe Opera Apprentice, Marhefka covered Adina in “L’elisir d’amore,” and performed in the Apprentice Scenes as Nannetta in “Falstaff.” She ended the season as a recipient of the 2024 Outstanding First Year Apprentice Award.

Mahefka has been praised for her voice, with critics stating she has a “soaring soprano” and an “impassioned, alluring and charismatic sound.”

Recordings 

For more on the soprano, here are some clips of her singing Mozart and Humperdinck.