Tenor Eric Botto, a Houston native, is best known for his vocal and dramatic versatility onstage. He has triumphed in leading tenor roles such as Alfredo (La traviata), Rodolfo (La bohème), Roméo (Roméo et Juliette), and Nadir (Les pêcheurs de perles), but also thrives in comic and character roles such as Earl Tolloller (Iolanthe), the Magician (The Consul), and Le petit vieillard (L’enfant et les sortilèges). He has performed in Italy, as well as across the United States – in New York, California, Texas, Florida, Colorado, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. In the summer of 2020, Eric experienced his first season with Chautauqua Opera, and was honored to be part of the world premiere of In Our Silence, an a cappella song cycle composed by Frances Pollock with text by Jerre Dye, drawing on interviews with each of the company’s young artists about their experiences during the COVID-19 isolation. Eric equally enjoys performing concert repertoire, and has credits as a soloist in Heinrich Schütz’s Musikalische Exequien, Uriel in Haydn’s The Creation, and as the tenor soloist in Christopher Powell’s 2021 world premiere of Rest: A Requiem. Eric holds music degrees from Colorado State University and the University of Mobile, and is currently pursuing an Artist Diploma at the University of Colorado Boulder under the tutelage of Dr. John Seesholtz.