Elizabeth Caballero
Soprano Elizabeth Caballero’s performance in her signature role, Violetta in La traviata is touted as “animated, communicative and believable, singing with a big, facile, focused sound while making the vocal demands of the role seem easy and natural.” Her dramatically compelling interpretation of Violetta led to recent engagements to perform the role for houses across the country, such as Florentine Opera, Madison Opera, Pacific Symphony, and the Orlando Philharmonic.
She was engaged to perform the role of Musetta in Puccini’s La bohème for the Metropolitan Opera after grabbing the audience’s attention in the role at New York City Opera when The New York Times hailed Ms. Caballero as “the evening’s most show-stopping performance offering a thrilling balance of pearly tone, exacting technique and brazen physicality.” She subsequently returned to The Met in their new production of Carmen as part of The Met: Live in HD series.
Recent engagements include an exciting return to Seattle Opera to sing Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, a performance of Carmina Burana with Florida Orchestra, a chance to sing the title role in Daniel Catán’s Spanish opera Florencia en el Amazonas with Nashville Opera, John Rutter’s Requiem at Carnegie Hall, and a concert appearance as Micaëla in Carmen by Bizet and Previn’s Honey and Rue in returns to the Pacific Symphony. This season she will once again perform as Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni at Lyric Opera Kansas City, as Violetta in La Traviata at Opera Naples and Pensacola Opera, as Zemfira/Nedda in Aleko/Pagliacci at Opera Carolina, Liù in Turandot at Pacific Symphony, and as the soprano soloist in Verdi’s Requiem in Opera Grand Rapids.
Ms. Caballero has garnered a reputation as “an intelligently responsive actress” (Opera News) after a string of role débuts throughout the United States: Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni at New York City Opera, Cio Cio San in Madama Butterfly at Lyric Opera Kansas City, Alice Ford in Falstaff with Virginia Opera, Violetta in La traviata at Opera New Jersey, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni at Madison Opera, and a turn as Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro in her company début at Seattle Opera, followed by a triumphant performance as Mimì in La Bohème. Her company début at Hawaii Opera Theatre was in a double bill of another signature role, Nedda in Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci and as soprano soloist in the scenic cantata, Carmina Burana by Carl Orff.
A house favorite at Florida Grand Opera, she dazzled audiences as Contessa Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro, Liù in Turandot, Mimì in La Bohème, Micaëla in Carmen, and Magda in La Rondine. In 2013, she was the recipient of the 2013 Frost School of Music Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Miami. Other favorite engagements include a return to New York City Opera in Pagliacci and La Bohème; Adina in L’elisir d’amore at San Antonio Opera; Micaëla in Carmen and Mimì in La bohème at Central City Opera; a return engagement as Liù in Turandot for Lyric Opera Kansas City, and a reprisal of the role at Austin Lyric Opera.
Ms. Caballero has impressed in the competition circuit, as well. She was a National Grand Finalist in The Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, a Gerda Lissner Foundation Award Winner, winner of the New York City Opera Diva Award, and place winner in the Licia Albanese Puccini Foundation, and one of Miami’s Most Influential People by the Miami New Times.
Sources
Image S. Richards