Lucia Cesaroni

With her “lush, creamy voice” and “giddy coloratura,” Italian-Canadian soprano Lucia Cesaroni has earned acclaim in some of opera’s most iconic roles, including Violetta (La traviata), Mimì (La bohème), and Donna Anna (Don Giovanni). In recent seasons, she has sung Norina in Don Pasquale and Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro with Calgary Opera, reprised her acclaimed portrayal of Ava in Gareth Williams and Anna Chatterton’s Rocking Horse Winner for Tapestry Opera, debuted as Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte at Pacific Opera Victoria, and joined the Metropolitan Opera roster covering Olga in Giordano’s Fedora. Upcoming engagements include Mimì in Vancouver Opera’s La bohème and her highly anticipated Canadian Opera Company debut as Violetta in La traviata.

Ms. Cesaroni has performed Donna Clara in Zemlinsky’s Der Zwerg at the Enescu Festival in Romania, Hanna Glawari in The Merry Widow at Vancouver Opera, and made debuts with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and Vancouver Symphony Orchestra as featured soloist in Joe Hisaishi’s Princess Mononoke Suite. She also took on notable role debuts as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni at the Spoleto Festival under James Conlon, Micaëla in Carmen with Maine’s Bay Chamber Concerts, and both Violetta and Mimì in Pacific Opera Victoria’s productions of La traviata and La bohème. A passionate advocate for Italian bel canto, she performed Eleonora in Donizetti’s rarely staged L’assedio di Calais with Boston’s Odyssey Opera. Additional operatic credits include Musetta in La bohème with Opéra de Montréal, Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro at the Spoleto Festival, Woglinde in Das Rheingold at Pacific Opera Victoria, Norina in Don Pasquale at Saskatoon Opera, Yum-Yum in The Mikado with Toronto Operetta Theatre, and Maria in West Side Story with Vancouver Opera.

As a concert artist, she has appeared internationally with leading orchestras. Highlights include Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, “Resurrection,” with the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI in Torino, a program of duets and arias with Andrea Bocelli at the Columbus Citizens Foundation in New York City, and Carmina Burana with the Berliner Symphoniker and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. In Canada, she has performed Messiah with the Victoria Symphony and Montréal Symphony Orchestra, as well as appearances with the Toronto and Vancouver Symphony Orchestras.

Beyond the stage, Cesaroni is the founder and principal of Cesaroni Consulting, leading workshops and coaching programs for corporate and post-secondary sectors. She is dedicated to articulating the value of artists beyond the performing arts and fostering interdisciplinary practice in North America. She also contributes regularly to Opera Canada through her column, Stage Business.

Ms. Cesaroni is an alumna of the Atelier lyrique de l’Opéra de Montréal. She received further training at the Ravinia Festival’s Steans Institute, the Britten-Pears Young Artists Programme at Aldeburgh, the Hochschule für Musik Nürnberg-Augsburg, the Chautauqua Festival, the Aspen Music Festival, and the International Vocal Arts Institute. She holds a Master of Music in Opera from the University of Toronto.