The New York Times describes Elizabeth Caballero as a “plush-toned, expressive soprano” and The Wall Street Journal exclaims that “Ms. Caballero is a find: her opulent soprano rings freely and lyrically throughout her range.” Ms. Caballero’s dramatically compelling interpretation of her signature role, Violetta in La traviata, led to recent engagements to perform the role for houses across the country, such as The Metropolitan Opera, Opera Carolina, Opera de Costa Rica, Florentine Opera, Madison Opera, Pacific Symphony, and the Orlando Philharmonic.
Ms. Caballero recently made a series of house debuts including her Staatsoper Stuttgart début as Mimi in La bohème, her début with The Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City as Desdemona in Otello, and her Madrid début at Teatro de la Zarzuela singing the title role of the European Premiere of Cecilia Valdés based on the Cuban novel of the same name. She also performed Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni with Florida Grand Opera, Cio-Cio San in Madama Butterfly with Inland Northwest Opera and Nashville Opera, Mimì in La bohème with Austin Opera, and returned to the Metropolitan Opera for their production of La Traviata.
2020 engagements were to include a return to Staatsoper Stuttgart for both Boito’s Mefistofele and as Cio-Cio San in Madama Butterfly, Mahler’s 8th Symphonyfor Pacific Symphony, Verdi’s Requiem for Portland Symphony, and her role debut as Tosca. Future engagements include performances with Staatsoper Stuttgart, Madison Symphony Orchestra, and the Seiji Ozawa Music Academy.
She was engaged to perform the role of Musetta in Puccini’s La bohème for the Metropolitan Opera after grabbing the audience’s attention in the role at New York City Opera where The New York Times hailed Ms. Caballero as “the evening’s most show-stopping performance offering a thrilling balance of pearly tone, exacting technique and brazen physicality.” She subsequently returned to The Met in their new production of Carmen as part of The Metropolitan Opera: Live in HD series and most recently in the role of Mimi in last season’s production of La bohème.
Recent operatic engagements also include Violetta in La traviata with la Compañía Lírica Nacional in Costa Rica, Opera Naples and Opera Grand Rapids, Cio-Cio San in Madama Butterfly with Pensacola Opera, and the title role of Daniel Catán’s Spanish opera Florencia en el Amazonas with Nashville Opera, New York City Opera and Madison Opera. She also returned to Seattle Opera as the Governess in The Turn of the Screw and as Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, which she also performed with Lyric Opera Kansas City, and Liù in Turandot and Zemfira/Nedda in Aleko/Pagliacci both at Opera Carolina.
Ms. Caballero’s concert repertoire consists of John Rutter’s Requiem at Carnegie Hall, a performance of Carmina Burana with Florida Orchestra, Asheville Symphony and the National Chorale, Previn’s Honey and Rue in returns to the Pacific Symphony and as the soprano soloist in Verdi’s Requiem in Opera Grand Rapids.
A house favorite at Florida Grand Opera, she dazzled audiences as Contessa Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro, Liù in Turandot, Mimì in La bohème, Micaëla in Carmen, Magda in La rondine, andMother/The Moon in Before Night Falls. Other favorite engagements include a return to New York City Opera in Pagliacci and La bohème; Adina in L’elisir d’amore at San Antonio Opera; Micaëla in Carmen and Mimì in La bohème at Central City Opera, a return engagement as Liù in Turandot for Lyric Opera Kansas City, and a reprisal of the role at Austin Lyric Opera.
Since her European début as Magda in Puccini’s operetta La rondine at Teatro Giuseppe Verdi in Trieste, Italy, Caballero has fostered strong relationships with companies around the globe. This led her to portray some of operas greatest roles on international stages throughout the world including Cio-Cio San in Madama Butterfly at the Staatsoper Berlin, Anne Trulove in The Rake’s Progress with the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra, and the title role in The Merry Widow at Teatro Nacional Santo Domingo.
Ms. Caballero built a reputation as “an intelligently responsive actress” (Opera News) after a string of early successes throughout the United States: Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni at New York City Opera, Cio-Cio San in Madama Butterfly at Lyric Opera Kansas City, Alice Ford in Falstaff with Virginia Opera, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni at Madison Opera, and a turn as Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro in her company début at Seattle Opera, followed by a triumphant performance as Mimì in La bohème. Her company début at Hawaii Opera Theatre was in a double bill of another signature role, Nedda in Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci and as soprano soloist in the scenic cantata, Carmina Burana by Carl Orff.
Ms. Caballero has impressed in the competition circuit, as well. She was a National Grand Finalist in The Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, a Gerda Lissner Foundation Award Winner, winner of the New York City Opera Diva Award, finalist in the Licia Albanese Puccini Foundation, and one of Miami’s Most Influential People by the Miami New Times. Additionally, in 2013, she was the recipient of the 2013 Frost School of Music Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Miami.
Updated 2.16.21
