ABOUT OLGA
OFFICIAL BIO
Cuban-American mezzo-soprano Olga Perez Flora is passionate about creating and bringing new life to roles in Hispanic and Latin American opera. Lauded by Opera News for her “smoky tones” and “firm, pleasant voice and lively poise,” she has been recognized for notable work in Spanish/English operas including Hector Armienta’s Zorro and Robert Xavier Rodriguez’s Frida. She is also known for her sultry Carmen, which she has performed numerous times, including her debut with Amarillo Opera. Dr. Flora was featured in Michael Ching’s Completing the Picture (November 2020 release), recorded and filmed remotely during the pandemic, for Opera Company Middlebury.
Opera roles include performances with Opera Company Middlebury/A Streetcar Named Desire (Eunice), Opera Columbus/Madama Butterfly (Suzuki), Erie Chamber Orchestra/Die Zauberflöte (Third Lady), Arizona Opera/La Cenerentola (Tisbe), Opera in the Heights/Don Giovanni (Zerlina), Opera Company Middlebury/Eugene Onegin (Olga), Northeast Symphony/La Traviata (Flora), Amhurst Orchestra/Carmen (Carmen), New Jersey Opera Theater/Gianni Schicci (Zita), Lyric Opera Theater/Ariadne auf Naxos (Der Komponist) Opera Festival di Roma/Le Nozze di Figaro (Marcellina) and more.
Internationally known as a recitalist, Dr. Flora has performed several recitals with companies across the United States, Cuba, and in Italy. She has most recently created a Cuban Song Recital named Canciones de mi Isla: Songs from my Island, featuring Cuban composers, poets and collaborators that has been enthusiastically received by audiences. Last Spring, Dr. Flora travelled to Havana, Cuba to perform in two concerts with Cuban composers José María Vitier and Leo Brouwer in her first visit to her families’ homeland.
Dr. Flora holds the Doctorate in Musical Arts from The Ohio State University, the Master in Music in opera theater from Arizona State University and the Bachelor in Music in vocal performance from Northern Arizona University. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Voice at the University of New Mexico, Artistic Co-Director at the Idyllwild Summer Arts Festival Choral Intensive, and the Artistic Director of the Gobbi Villa summer young artist program in Rome, Italy. Her professional affiliations include being an active member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) and the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA).
FEATURED AWARDS
The American Song Prize
Opera America Digital Excellence in Opera
First Prize (2022)
First Prize (2022)
Verdi by Vegetables with Resonance Works
REPERTOIRE
OPERA
Carmen, Carmen
Mercedes, Carmen
Suzuki, Madama Butterfly
Zita, Gianni Schicchi
Principessa, Suor Angelica
Charlotte, Werther
Zita, Buoso’s Ghost
Olga, Eugene Onegin
Larina, Eugene Onegin
Hansel, Hansel and Gretel
Third Lady, Magic Flute
Second Lady, Magic Flute
Zerlina, Don Giovanni
Dorabella, Cosi fan tutte
Cherubino, Le Nozze di Figaro
Marcellina, Le Nozze di Figaro
Mistress Quickly, Falstaff
Meg Page, Falstaff
Lucretia, The Rape of Lucretia
Der Komponist, Ariadne auf Naxos
Orlovsky, Die Fledermaus
Pitti-sing, The Mikado
Peep-bo, The Mikado
Old Lady, Sweeney Todd
Mauyra, Riders to the Sea
Tisbe, La Cenerentola
Flora, La Traviata
Annina, La Traviata
Luisa, FernandaLuisa Fernanda
Jo, Little Women
Meg, Little Women
Marme, Little Women
CONCERT
Messiah, Handel
Israel in Egypt, Handel
Requiem, Verdi
Requiem, Mozart
Solemn Vespers, Mozart
Lord Nelson Mass, Hayden
Cantata BWV 147, Bach
Christmas Oratorio, Bach
Mass in B minor, Bach
Il Tramonto, Respighi
Stabat Mater, Rossini
Cinco canciones negras, Montsalvatge
The Ninth Symphony, Beethoven
Missa Solemnes, Beethoven
Mass in C, Beethoven
Christmas Oratorio, Saint Saens
Ruckert Lieder, Mahler
Les Nuits d’etes, Berlioz
Gloria, Vivaldi
Mass in C Major, Mozart
Magnificat, Bach
El amor brujo, DeFalla
El Retablo de maese Pedro, DeFalla
Requiem, Durufle