Artist Announcement - Mi Camino
January 18, 2021
Opera Cultura is thrilled to share the three singers featured in the new song cycle opera Mi Camino: The Pandemic Stories of Farmworkers by composer Héctor Armienta. Nationally acclaimed soprano Cecilia Violetta López will be joined by two outstanding Bay Area singers: mezzo-soprano Deborah Martínez Rosengaus and tenor Emmanuel Mercado. The cast of three will bring to life real stories of Bay Area farmworkers in this compelling new work, set to premiere online this June 2021.
Special thanks to our Lead Artist Sponsor: Rita Elizabeth Horiguchi
Cecilia Violetta López, soprano:
Celebrated soprano, Cecilia Violetta López, has been named one of opera’s “25 Rising Stars” by Opera News. The singing actress is praised for her “alluring voice and incredible range” (Washington Times). She has received accolades for her signature role of Violetta in La traviata, which she has performed many times throughout North America, with Opera Tampa, Opera Idaho, Northern Lights Music Festival, Ash Lawn Opera, and in her company debuts with Virginia Opera, Opera Colorado and Minnesota Opera. Ms. López also recently made her European debut as Norina in Don Pasquale with Zomeropera in Belgium, for which Klassiek Centraal exclaimed: “She turns out to be the revelation of the show and wins over the audience with her funny rendition, irresistible charm, and [she is] natural in the different vocals.” Ms. López, a Mexican-American native of Rupert, Idaho, got her musical start at a young age singing mariachi music that she learned from her mother. www.ceciliaviolettalopez.com
Images of Cecilia Violetta López by Vanessa Preziose Photography
Deborah Martínez Rosengaus, mezzo-soprano:
Deborah Martínez Rosengaus has performed internationally with a variety of musical ensembles in concert halls such as: Santori Hall in Tokyo, The Center for Performing Arts in Beijing, Disney Hall, The Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. She has received critical acclaim for her interpretation of Jo in Mark Adamo's Little Women and was nominated for a Theater Bay Area Award for the role of Ruth in Pirates of Penzance. She's performed locally with; West Edge Opera, Lamplighters, Opera San Jose, Teatro Vision, Pocket Opera, West Bay Opera, Los Altos Stage, Livermore Valley Opera, Island City Opera, Ars Minerva and Solo Opera. www.DeborahRosengaus.com
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Emmanuel Mercado, tenor
Emmanuel began his studies in composition and guitar in his hometown of Morelia, Mexico at the Conservatorio de las Rosas. He traveled to Mexico City to study opera under the instruction of Hector Sosa Monterola at the Autonomous University of Mexico and at the National Institute of Fine Arts, which then enabled him to earn a scholarship to study for a few months in Spain and benefit from the support of the national system of artistic values.
He has performs in works such as: Bizet’s Carmen (Remendado), Mozart’s Cossi fann tutte (Ferrando), Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci (Beppe), Verdi’s Rigoletto (Borsa), and Jonathan Dove’s Mansfield Park (Henry Crawford). Emmanuel currently performs with the Opera Modesto and studies with Roy Stevens and Annalisa Winberg.
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