Lisa Chavez, Mezzo Soprano, has been described by her “plush storm of a voice” and “graceful stage presence”. This season she makes three role debuts. She started the fall with Cimarosa’s comedy Il matrimonio segreto singing Fidalma with Sarasota Opera. Then in February Lisa will be making her company debut with Opera Tampa singing Adalgisa in Norma. Then she will return to Sarasota Opera to sing the title role in Massenet’s rarely performed Thérèse.
She returned to the stage, post covid, in her debut as Dido Queen of Carthage in Sarasota Opera’s Dido and Aeneas, then over the summer was featured in a series of concerts with New York City Opera in Bryant Park. She sang the title role in Carmen, was Mezzo Soloist in the concert Now That’s What I Call Opera, and Maddalena in Rigoletto which was also performed at the Phoenicia Festival of the Voice. The 18/19 season ended with her originating the role of Maggie in the World Premiere of Iain Bell’s Stonewall with New York City Opera. “Heading a superb cast was Lisa Chavez as the tough Maggie, flinging out compact mezzo tone(s) like fists.” the Observer. Lisa began that season with a role debut singing Rosina in Sarasota Opera’s production of Il Barbiere di Siviglia. “By far the most impressive singing of the evening came from Lisa Chavez, who enchanted everyone as last season’s Carmen …. In describing her sound, “honeyed chocolate” is about as close as one can get, and yet she navigates the coloratura with apparent ease. Her Rosina was at once shy, flirtatious and scheming as she sometimes outwitted even Figaro himself.” She then returned to Sarasota for the ‘19 Winter Festival in another role debut, Fenena, of Verdi’s Nabucco. Chavez also made an anticipated return to Washington Opera Society in another Verdi debut as Amneris in Aida.
The 19/20 season began with a company debut with Knoxville Opera in the role of Suzuki in Madama Butterfly. She then returned to Sarasota Opera to sing both Gertrude in Roméo et Juliette and Afra in the rarely performed La Wally. Later that season she was supposed to make another role and company debut as Frances Countess of Essex in Britten’s Gloriana with Odyssey Opera, but was canceled due to Covid shutdown.
The 17/18 season included many performances of the title role in Carmen which is looking to become a signature role for her. She returned to Sarasota Opera for all 11 sold out performances of Carmen in their Winter 2018 season. She immediately followed Sarasota with Carmen performances with Opera in Williamsburg as well as with Washington Opera Society in D.C. Past season Carmen productions include performances as Guest Artist with Opera San Jose, and performances with New York City Opera. She garnered rave reviews including, “Chavez’s performance is something special” and, “Lisa Chavez was born to play Carmen, equipped with the classic Carmen look, vocal power and attitude.”
In addition to Stonewall, Lisa has been seen in multiple American modern operas. She was recently seen singing the title role in the New York premiere of Tobias Picker’s Dolores Claiborne with New York City Opera. This was the opera’s first performance since its debut at SFO. Other English language operas performed by Chavez include, Dinah in Trouble in Tahiti, Secretary in The Consul, and Madame Volanges in Dangerous Liaisons. In November 2008 Ms. Chavez was a finalist in the worldwide Opera Competition with Mezzo TV, and was seen via live telecast performing the role of Elizabeth Proctor in Robert Ward’s The Crucible in over 40 European countries. She was invited to return to the festival in November 2009 to sing the role of Mrs. Bass for the European premiere of Tobias Picker’s dramatic work Emmeline, also televised on Mezzo TV.
Ms. Chavez made her debut with Sarasota Opera in the iconic role of Madame de Croissy of Dialogues of the Carmelites as part of their 2017 Winter season. In June of 2016 she made her Carnegie Hall debut as Alto Soloist in Dan Forrest’s Jubilate Deo. In 2016 Chavez sang the role of Paula in New York City Opera’s production of Florencia en el Amazonas to great acclaim and was the Alto Soloist in Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with Billings Symphony Orchestra & Chorale.
For the ‘13-’14 and ‘14-’15 season she was a principal resident artist with Opera San Jose. While there she debuted 7 new roles. Isabella in L’Italiana in Algeri was the crowning jewel to her tenure at OSJ. Georgia Rowe from Opera News wrote, “Lisa Chavez … glided through Isabella’s arias with assurance; her buttery, richly colored mezzo was evenly produced throughout her range, sounding shapely in Act I’s “Cruda sorte!” registering with luxuriant ease and beauty in her Act II invocation of Venus, “Per lui che adoro,” and emerging with bright, forward tone in the ensembles. Chavez is a graceful stage presence, and there was no doubting her character’s intelligence and resourcefulness. “Pensa alla patria” was her most convincing moment.” Other roles sung during tenure with Opera San Jose were; Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Hansel in Hansel and Gretel, Maddalena in Rigoletto, Harriet Herriton in the professional premiere of Where Angels Fear to Tread, Suzuki in Madama Butterfly, Meg Page in Falstaff, and Third Lady in Die Zauberflöte.
In 2013 Chavez won First Place and Audience Choice awards in the Irma M. Cooper Vocal Competition with Opera Columbus, and also placed Third in the Irene Dalis Vocal Competition in San Jose. In 2014 she placed 2nd in the Shreveport Singer of the Year Competition, and was also a grant recipient from the Giulio Gari Foundation. In 2015 she was a Finalist in the renowned Jensen Foundation Vocal Competition. Chavez has also received Encouragement Awards from the Gerda Lissner Foundation in 2009 and 2011.
Lisa is a graduate of the Master’s Degree Program at the Manhattan School of Music and was a founding member of Opera Collective, an independent opera company making Operatic repertoire accessible to all of the New York City metro area. Chavez is a California Bay Area native, born in Oakland, and attended California State University Hayward (East Bay) where she received her Bachelor of Arts in Music.