The Santa Fe Opera is set to open this week with a new production of “Le Nozze di Figaro” featuring a cast of rising stars. Among them will be Vanessa Vasquez who returns to the company after her debut in 2019. This season she will add the role of the Countess to her repertoire.

The Colombian-American soprano first stepped onto the Santa Fe stage as Mimì in “La Bohème” and received great reviews with critics stating, “Vasquez phrased with conviction and taste, purveying powerful vocalism as well as beauty of tone while hitting every note right at its center.”

With her return to the Santa Fe Opera, Vasquez will return to Mozart and complete the Mozart-Da Ponte trilogy. The soprano has previously performed in “Don Giovanni” at the Washington National Opera and in “Cosi fan tutte” at the Lyric Opera of Kansas City.

Vasquez first came to prominence when she won the Metropolitan National Council Auditions in 2017 and then competed at the Operalia Competition in 2018 making it to the Zarzuela finals. She also won the Gerda Lissner Competition and the Licia Albanese Competition among others. Since then she has performed at the Arizona Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Canadian Opera Company, and is set to return to the Washington National Opera and make her Opera de Paris debut this season.

Recordings

While Vasquez does not have any recordings yet there are several videos available of the young star.

Here is a preview of her Countess:

Here she is at the Operalia Finale.

Here she is as Mimì in “La Bohème.”