“Sensitive, Impassioned, Hypnotic…”
Acclaimed as “sensitive and impassioned” by Opera News, Boston-based mezzo-soprano Felicia Gavilanes is gaining a reputation as an exciting and versatile singing actress. An Emerging Artist Alumna with Boston Lyric Opera, Felicia is a frequent performer in both mainstage and concert roles throughout Boston and beyond.
Of her recent performance as Ino in Lord of Cries with Boston Modern Orchestra Project, which was nominated for a 2024 Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording, the Boston Globe wrote “Even better were Leah Brzyski, Rachel Blaustein, and Felicia Gavilanes as the three sisters, eerie and prophetic…” Boston Classical Review wrote “Leah Brzyski, Rachel Blaustein, and Felicia Gavilanes sang with hypnotic tonal blend and stratospheric range. Their collective sense of character…playful, cunning, and alluring.” As The Double in Poul Ruders’ The Handmaid’s Tale, the Wall Street Journal wrote “Felicia Gavilanes brought a poignant innocence to Offred in the Time Before” and Opera Magazine praised her “touching vulnerability.”
Felicia will next be seen onstage as Hansel in Hansel and Gretelwith Mobile Opera in fall 2024. This year will also see two new record releases for Felicia - Lulu with Boston Modern Orchestra Project in Lukas Foss’ The Jumping Frog of Calaveras Countyand “La Sera,” an album exploring the luscious poetry of Gabriele d’Annunzio set by Tosti, Respighi, Castelnuovo-Tedesco and others.
Recent company and role debuts include Boston Modern Orchestra Project (Lulu in The Jumping Frog of Calaveras County), Salt Marsh Opera (Mercedes in Carmen), Teatro LíricoNacional de Cuba (Dido in Dido and Aeneas), Odyssey Opera (Léœna in La Belle Hélène), Winter Opera St. Louis (Zulma in L'Italiana in Algeri), and Gulfshore Opera (Maria in Lauda per la natività).
Other operatic roles include Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Mrs. DeRocher in Dead Man Walking, Flora in La Traviata, Baba the Turk in The Rake’s Progress, Asakir in Sumeida’sSong, Tisbe in La Cenerentola, and La Ciesca in Gianni Schicchi.
Recent soloist performances include Haydn’s “Paukenmesse”and “Lord Nelson Mass,” Mozart’s Coronation Mass, the Mozart Requiem, the Vivaldi Gloria, Mendelssohn's “Elijah,” an evening of Mozart with the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra, an opera gala with the Orquésta del Conservatorio Nacional de la República Dominicana, and numerous recital engagements with Boston Lyric Opera. Inspired by foreign languages and travel, Felicia has been featured in engagements from the Gran Teatro de la Habana to the Staatstheater Darmstadt to the Basilica di Santa Maria in Trastevere, Rome.
Felicia is a recipient of Berklee College’s Faculty Recording Grant, Boston Lyric Opera’s Stephen Shrestinian Award for Excellence, Opera America’s Career Blueprints grant, the Beaulieu Award in Opera, the Gallaher Award, and the Edith S. Joel Fellowship in Opera. Felicia is a recent finalist in the MetroWest Opera Vocal Competition for Emerging Artists and a prize winner of Mobile Opera’s Madame Rose Competition.
A dual citizen of the U.S. and Italy, Felicia completed her Bachelor of Arts in Italian Literature and Music from Dartmouth College. She received her Master of Music with Honors from the New England Conservatory and her Doctorate from Florida State University.
Cruda Sorte - Rossini’s L’Italiana in Algeri
Wie Du Warst, Wie Du Bist - Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier (Jean Anderson, Piano)
