DANIELLE TALAMANTES

Last season, Danielle Talamantes’ engagements included Henry Dehlinger’s Kohelet for the Washington Master Chorale and the Santa Clara Chorale, Mimi in La bohème for Jackson Symphony, and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony for Fairfax Symphony Orchestra. She also made her Washington National Opera debut as Maria Hernández in Kamala Sankaram’s Rise as part of their production Written in Stone, and Mosaic for Earth at Virginia Tech. This season’s engagements include Mahler’s Fourth Symphony with the National Philharmonic.

Talamanates first earned a spot on the Metropolitan Opera roster in the spring of 2011, covering the role of Najade in Ariadne auf Naxos, and was subsequently reengaged to cover the role of the Flower Maiden in Richard Wagner’s Parsifal, joined the house for their production of The Exterminating Angel, the soprano in the quartet of lovers in the Baroque pastiche The Enchanted Island, and in Strauss’ Die Frau ohne Schatten. This rising star made her exciting stage debut as Frasquita in Georges Bizet’s Carmen in a return to The Metropolitan Opera and has since returned to perform the role of Anna in Nabucco. Other notable operatic engagements include the role of Marzelline in Fidelio with the Princeton Festival; Mimì in La bohème with the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas; the title role of Susannah with Opera Roanoke; Violetta in La traviata with Finger Lakes Opera; Donna Anna in Don Giovanni at Cedar Rapids Opera; the role of Sergente in Veremonda at Spoleto Festival USA; and Act I of La bohème with the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas at Walton Arts Center.

A native of Northern Virginia, Talamantes made her Carnegie Hall debut in a sold-out solo recital in 2007 and was the Soprano in Residence for the Summer 2012 at the Marlboro Music Festival in Vermont.

Kirstin Chavez

Kirstin Chávez is considered one of the most riveting and significant mezzo-sopranos today. The combination of her magnificent voice, expansive range, dramatic intensity of her acting, and natural physical beauty makes her an arresting and unique presence on the operatic stage. Chávez captures attention and acclaim and is recognized as one of the definitive interpreters of Carmen of our generation. She has performed Georges Bizet’s iconic heroine with great success throughout the world with leading opera companies and symphonies.

This season, Chávez creates the role of Carlotta de Obragon in the world premiere of Hector Armienta’s Zorro for Fort Worth Opera and sings the role of Suzuki in Madama Butterfly for Dallas Opera. On the concert stage, she performs as mezzo-soprano soloist in Mozart’s Requiem with the Paducah Symphony Orchestra, performs in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 at Virginia Symphony Orchestra, and brings her signature role of Carmen to the Helena Symphony.

Chávez earned a Bachelor of Music from New Mexico State University and a Master of Music in Voice Performance and Performance Certificate from the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester.