Praised for her “silvery-voiced” (Seen and Heard International) and “rich-toned soprano” (New York Classical Review), Victoria Okafor is steadily making a name for herself in the world of musical theater and opera. She recently made her New York City debut with MasterVoices as Alesha in their semi-staged version of Scott Davenport Richards’ Blind Injustice at Lincoln Center. Other highlights include being named a Kurt Weill/Lotte Lenya Artist by the Kurt Weill Foundation and playing the role of Kate Mullins in The Marriott Theatre’s production of Titanic.
A lover of new music, Okafor has originated a number of roles in workshops and on the stage, including Alesha in Blind Injustice, Wilhelmina in Gregory Spears’ Castor and Patience, Nyomi in William Menefield’s Fierce, Persephone in Kevin Day’s Lalovavi and Laura in Kevin Puts’ The Hours. Okafor revisited the role of Laura when she covered Kelli O’Hara in the concert version of The Hours with The Philadelphia Orchestra under conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin.
She has sung with companies all over the country, such as Washington National Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Cincinnati Opera, Opera Birmingham and Opera Columbus. Her 2024 season included reprising the role of Alesha in Blind Injustice with PEAK Performances at Montclair State University, a production of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical at Covington’s The Carnegie and a guest appearance with the Cincinnati Pops. Okafor returned to The Carnegie with local duo Queen City Cabaret for two concerts showcasing her mastery of the American Songbook.
In 2023, Okafor performed Mendelssohn’s Elijah with the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra, Così fan tutte in concert with Newport Classical, a workshop of Robeson with Cincinnati Opera, performances of Clorinda in La Cenerentola with Kentucky Opera, and Utah Festival Opera’s summer season of Wagner’s Lohengrin, Elton John’s AIDA and the musical Oliver! Okafor returned to her alma mater, Shenandoah Conservatory, to perform Knoxville: Summer of 1915 with the Shenandoah Symphony as well as William Grant Still’s From the Hearts of Women.
She was awarded the second prize of the Lotte Lenya Competition in 2021, and was a 2025 quarterfinalist of the American Traditions Vocal Competition and a 2020 encouragement award winner in the Kentucky District for the Metropolitan National Council Competition. Okafor is a native of the DC/Maryland area and a graduate of Shenandoah Conservatory and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in voice performance and an artist diploma in opera performance.
Okafor is a huge classic film fan and hosts a song series titled “Songs from Old Movie Musicals that Are Stuck in My Head” on Instagram. victoriaokafor.com