Celebrated for her "arresting stage presence" coupled with "exquisite sensitivity," Mexican mezzo-soprano Claudia Chapa is a versatile performer in high demand across the nation. In 2019-2020, Ms. Chapa made her Houston Grand Opera debut originating the role of Josefina in the world premiere of El Milagro del Recuerdo, a role she will reprise in her debut with Arizona Opera in 2021. Additionally this season, Ms. Chapa joins the cast of Eugene Onegin with The Dallas Symphony conducted by Maestro Fabio Luisi and will be heard as the alto soloist for Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis with the National Philharmonic. In addition to her active performance schedule, Claudia is an in-demand concert curator specializing in Hispanic/Latinx programming. She is currently curating Concerts at the Consulate/Conciertos en el Consulado in the new partnership between Austin Opera and the Mexican Consulate. Claudia took part in a concert that she co-curated entitled Entre Amigos which opened Fort Worth Opera’s historic 75th Season.
In 2021, Ms. Chapa performed the Title Role in Douglas Pew’s Penny in her debut with Opera Grand Rapids and she made a return to Opera San Antonio to sing Alisa in Lucia di Lammermoor. Other recent highlights include recording Handel’s Messiah with the Royal Philharmonic at the famed Abbey Roads Studios, a return to Alabama Symphony as featured soloist in El amor brujo (de Falla) and Neruda Songs (Lieberson), and house and role debuts as Fenena (Nabucco) with West Bay Opera.
Notable recent engagements include her “powerful” Azucena (Il trovatore) with St. Petersburg Opera Company, Winter Opera St. Louis, and Opera in Williamsburg; Ortrud (Lohengrin) and Hedwige (William Tell) with Opera Southwest; Mary (The Flying Dutchman) and Dryade (Ariadne auf Naxos) with Austin Opera; her “earthy, distinctive” Fairy Godmother in the US premiere of Alma Deutscher’s Cinderella with Opera San Jose; her “show-stopping” Berta (Il barbiere di Sivigilia) with San Antonio Opera; Zita (Gianni Schicchi) and Zia Principessa (Suor Angelica) with St. Petersburg Opera; Zita (Gianni Schicchi and Buoso’s Ghost) with Opera Delaware and Baltimore Concert Opera; Marcellina (Le nozze di Figaro) with Charlottesville Opera; Ulrica (Un ballo in maschera), her “purring, inky” Madame Flora (The Medium) and The Witch (Hänsel und Gretel) with Opera in the Heights; Bloody Mary (South Pacific) with Gulf Coast Symphony; her “hilarious” Dame Quickly (Falstaff) with Winter Opera St. Louis and Opera in the Heights; Marthe (Faust) with Indianapolis Opera; Third Lady (Die Zauberflӧte) with The Glimmerglass Festival and Austin Lyric Opera; and Alisa (Lucia di Lammermoor) with Winter Opera St. Louis.
Claudia debuted Carnegie Hall in 2015 and remains an active concert performer, most recently heard as mezzo soloist for Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Verdi’s Requiem, and Handel’s Messiah with DCINY at Carnegie Hall. She’s also performed Bruckner’s Te Deum and Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 in addition to the aforementioned oratorios with Alabama Symphony, Gulf Coast Symphony, Austin Symphony, Florida Orchestra, and Evansville Philharmonic.
Claudia Chapa is proud to do work with Austin Classical Guitar’s Lullaby Project pairing pregnant women and new mothers and fathers with professional artists to write and sing personal lullabies for their babies, supporting maternal health, aiding childhood development, and strengthening the bond between parent and child.
Ms. Chapa is a grant recipient from the Olga Forrai Foundation for exceptionally large, dramatic voices in the field of opera, and studied vocal performance at the Butler School of Music at The University of Texas at Austin. She currently resides in Austin with her husband and two glorious chihuahuas.