Appearing in:
New Works NEw Voices
Vanessa Becerra
soprano
Peruvian & Mexican American Soprano Vanessa Becerra has been praised for her “bold and bright” singing (Opera News) and lauded for her “charismatic and eloquent” presence (San Francisco Chronicle).
Vanessa’s 21/22 season begins with a role/house debut at Intermountain Opera Bozeman for Il barbiere di Siviglia (Rosina), a return to Washington National Opera for Sankaram’s Rise (Alicia Hernández), part of the world premiere tetralogy Written in Stone, and debuts with Austin Opera for Fidelio (Marzelline) and Opera Parallèle for La Belle et la Bête (Belle). In Concert, she will debut with Minnesota Opera for Opera in the Outfield and return to Fort Worth Opera for Entre Amigos.
Last season, she returned to Opera San José for the title role in Il segreto di Susanna by Wolf-Ferrari, debuted with Arizona Opera for the feature length film adaptation and world premiere of The Copper Queen (Julia Lowell), and debuted with St. Croix Valley Opera in a concert of popular arias entitled Opera on the River. Vanessa debuted at Houston Grand Opera in the world premiere of El Milagro del Recuerdo (La mujer) and Washington National Opera in Don Giovanni (Zerlina). Additional recent appearances include Francesca Zambello’s West Side Story (Maria) with Lyric Opera of Kansas City, The Glimmerglass Festival, and Atlanta Opera. She also joined the roster of The Metropolitan Opera and returned to Opera Omaha for Glass’s Les enfants terribles (Lise).
Vanessa debuted with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under the baton of Gustavo Dudamel in Die Zauberflöte (Papagena), San Francisco Symphony with Michael Tilson Thomas in Candide (Paquette), Lyric Opera of Chicago in Fellow Travelers (Miss Lightfoot), Opera Delaware and Baltimore Concert Opera in Werther (Sophie), Opera Omaha in Medea (Glauce), and Atlanta Opera in Sweeney Todd (Johanna). The winter of 2017 saw Ms. Becerra’s return to Opera San Jose as the title role in Alma Deutscher's Cinderella (featured internationally on Medici.tv) conducted by Jane Glover.
Ms. Becerra is a graduate of the Young Artist Program at the Los Angeles Opera. During her time with LAO, she appeared in Le nozze di Figaro (Barbarina), Die Zauberflöte (Papagena), La Traviata (Annina), Gossip 2 in the GRAMMY Award-winning recording of Corigliano’s The Ghosts of Versailles, and as a featured soloist in a concert with bass-baritone Erwin Schrott. Vanessa enjoys a long relationship with The Glimmerglass Festival where she has been seen in Oklahoma! (Laurey), La bohème (Musetta), and in their Young Artist performances of The Magic Flute (Pamina). Other training programs include Wolf Trap Opera Company, Des Moines Metro Opera, and Seagle Music Colony.
Vanessa’s professional debut came in 2014 at Fort Worth Opera in the world premiere of Crozier’s With Blood, With Ink (Young Juana). She received her master’s degree from The Boston Conservatory and was invited to return and perform as a featured alumna on their 150th Anniversary Gala at Symphony Hall.
Ms. Becerra received her bachelor’s degree from Texas Christian University in her hometown of Fort Worth, TX and is a graduate of the Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts