Elena Villalón

Her engagements last season included her debut at the Metropolitan Opera New York as Amore in Gluck Orfeo ed Euridice, and Sheila in the world premiere of Gregory Spears’ The Righteous at the Santa Fe Opera. As an ensemble member at Oper Frankfurt, Villalón led a new production of Le Nozze di Figaro as Susanna, as well as making her role debut as Pamina Die Zauberflöte and singing Frasquita Carmen. In concert, she sang Mahler Symphony No. 4 under James Gaffigan and the Boston Symphony Orchestra for Tanglewood Music Festival, Handel Messiah and the Brahms Requiem with the Pittsburgh Symphony, Bach Christmas Oratorio at the Tiroler Festspiele, and Mahler Symphony No. 2 with the Lubbock Symphony in her native Texas. Villalón also appeared in a Winter Gala at the Santa Fe Opera.

Other recent engagements include Tina Flight and Gretel Hansel und Gretel both at Dallas Opera; Susanna Le nozze di Figaro at Austin Opera; Nannetta Falstaff in Santa Fe; Susanna and the world premiere of Thompson The Snowy Day at Houston Grand Opera; Iole in a new Barrie Kosky production of Hercules as well as Atalanta Xerxes At Oper Frankfurt; and an international tour of Handel Solomon as the Queen of Sheba together with The English Concert and Harry Bicket.

In concert she has appeared as the emerging artist recitalist with Vocal Arts DC, collaborating with Kathleen Kelly at the Kennedy Center; Orff Carmina Burana with the Los Angeles Philharmonic; Poulenc Gloria with the Grand Rapids Symphony and Handel Ode for St. Cecilia’s Day with Boston Baroque.

A native of Austin, Texas, Elena Villalón is an alumna of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and made her professional debut as a Gerdine Young Artist at the Opera Theatre of St. Louis, where she performed the role of Barbarina Le Nozze di Figaro and later returned for Lauretta Gianni Schicchi. A 2019 Grand Finals winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, she recently took home several prizes in the Hans Gabor Belvedere Competition, including 2nd Prize, Audience Prize, CS Prize, and the Wil Keune Prize, a 2022 Sara Tucker Career Grant from the Richard Tucker Music Foundation, and the Richard F. Gold career grant from Houston Grand Opera.