Vanessa Isiguen

Violetta Valéry

Acclaimed by the New York Times as “Radiant”, Vanessa Isiguen most recently joined the roster of the Metropolitan Opera to cover the dual role of Kitty/ Vanessa in the premiere of THE HOURS by composer Kevin Puts and librettist Greg Pierce, with Maestro Yannick Nézet‐Séguin. She began the 2022‐23 season as the soprano soloist with the Oregon Symphony at Portland's beloved Waterfront concert, and looks forward to making her debut with Dublin's Lyric Opera of Ireland as as Cio‐Cio‐San in MADAMA BUTTERFLY in the new year. She also has engagements with Eugene Opera as Mimì LA BOHÈME, and the Portland Youth Philharmonic as the Soprano Soloist in Beethoven's Symphony No. 9.

Driven by a strong passion for new music, Ms. Isiguen was thrilled to create the starring role of Nila in the world premiere of chamber opera TRES MINUTOS with Music of Remembrance last summer. She worked closely with composer Nicolas Benavides and librettist Marella Martin Koch singing a tour of performances in Seattle and San Francisco. She began the 2021‐22 season with her New Orleans Opera debut reprising her signature role as Mimì LA BOHÈME with Maestro Joseph Colaneri.

Previously Ms. Isiguen made her Florida Grand Opera debut as Cio-Cio-San MADAMA BUTTERFLY garnering praise from Palm Beach Arts, “Isiguen’s Butterfly was moving and beautifully sung... she has a big fresh voice with plenty of stamina for an opera that requires her almost constant presence, and serious acting chops that made her lovable, believable, and tragic on the stage...the performance was a triumph, and the audience loved her.” Vanessa was subsequently featured as a soloist at the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, UK singing the famous aria ‘Un bel dÌ, vedremo’, with Maestro Nicola Luisotti for their Insights Program Concert.

Other notable engagements include the leading role of Roberta Alden AN AMERICAN TRAGEDY by Tobias Picker and librettist Gene Scheer with Glimmerglass Opera Festival. She was featured by The New York Times in a video clip depicting her singing at the beginning of the eerily famous drowning scene. New York Arts wrote, “Vanessa Isiguen (Roberta) was completely convincing as the tragic heroine both vocally and dramatically”, and Classical Voice America described Vanessa as, “A strong, well rounded soprano who sang the fiendishly high and difficult role easily.” She sang the role of Spirit at the Metropolitan Opera workshop of THE SORROWS OF FREDERICK by Scott Wheeler, conducted by Steven Osgood, and the New York City premiere of the Spanish opera IL POSTINO by Daniel Catàn as Beatrice Russo.

Vanessa made her debut with the Oregon Symphony as a featured soloist under the baton of Maestro Carlos Kalmar, and her Portland Opera debut as Mimì LA BOHÈME with Maestro George Manahan to rave reviews. Opera News boasts, “Vanessa Isiguen brought to Mimì good looks, a lovely soprano, and loads of personality... ‘Si, mi chiamano Mimì’ had variety and nuance from spinto bloom to light chatter.”

Other roles include Nedda I PAGLIACCI, Violetta LA TRAVIATA, Liù TURANDOT, Micaëla CARMEN, THAЇS, RUSALKA, La Contessa and Susanna LE NOZZE DI FIGARO, Donna Elvira DON GIOVANNI. Vanessa has performed with The Metropolitan Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Florida Grand Opera, Portland Opera, New Orleans Opera, Sarasota Opera, Opera Tampa, Vashon Opera, Opera Idaho, and Eugene Opera. She has won top prizes from Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, The Gerda Lissner Foundation NYC, Connecticut Opera Guild, Jenny Lind Competition, and the Bel Canto Competition. Vanessa holds a Bachelor of Music from UNC Chapel Hill, a Master of Music from Boston Conservatory, and a Professional Studies Diploma from Mannes College of Music - The New School in New York City.