Acclaimed as “sensitive and impassioned” by Opera News, Italian American 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 in Boston and throughout New England. As The Double in Poul Ruders’ The Handmaid’s Tale with Boston Lyric Opera, 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 recently made her Jordan Hall debut as Ino in Boston Modern Orchestra Project and Odyssey Opera’s East Coast Premiere of John Corigliano’s The Lord of Cries, starring Anthony Roth Costanzo, and a return to Latin America as an invited soloist with the National Conservatory Symphony Orchestra of the Dominican Republic in an evening of opera arias and duets.
2024 will see the release of Felicia’s first full-length album, La Sera, a celebration of art song from Italy’s golden salon age. Felicia will next be seen onstage as Sandman in Hansel and Gretel with Boston Lyric Opera.
Recent company and role debuts include Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Salt Marsh Opera (Mercedes in Carmen), Teatro Lírico Nacional 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).
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.
