Acclaimed by the New York Times as "radiant", American soprano Vanessa Isiguen begins the 2024-25 season with an exciting role debut as SUOR ANGELICA at Opera Idaho. She most recently returned to the Metropolitan Opera cover the role of Liù TURANDOT and the dual role of Kitty/ Vanessa THE HOURS by Kevin Puts. Ms. Isiguen will make her San Diego Symphony debut this fall as Nila TRES MINUTOS by the brilliant young composer/ librettist team Nicolas Benavides and Marella Martin Koch after a successful tour of premiere performances in Seattle and San Francisco. Ms. Isiguen looks forward to her debut with Opera Maine as Mimì LA BOHÈME in the new year, and a return to the Seattle Symphony with Music of Remembrance as the soprano soloist for a world premiere in the spring by the Portuguese composer Luis Tinoco. 

Last season Ms. Isiguen made her Dublin debut in the title role of MADAMA  BUTTERFLY with Lyric Opera of Ireland, and her Orpheus PDX debut as Almera DARK SISTERS by Nico Muhly which garnered high praise by OperaWire:  “Vanessa Isiguen as Almera was resolute in her devotion to the prophet as her  soprano soared thrillingly…”    Ms. Isiguen made her New Orleans Opera debut as Mimì LA BOHÈME with Maestro Joseph Colaneri and had engagements as the soprano soloist with the Oregon Symphony, and Portland Youth Philharmonic in Beethoven's 9th Symphony, and  Eugene Opera as Mimì LA BOHÈME.

Previously Ms. Isiguen made her Florida Grand Opera debut in Miami as Cio-Cio-San MADAMA BUTTERFLY garnering praise from Palm Beach Arts, “Isiguen’s Butterfly was moving and beautifully sung… she has a big fresh voice with plenty of stamina for an opera that requires her almost constant presence, and serious acting chops that made her lovable, believable, and tragic on the stage…the performance was a triumph, and the audience loved her.” She was subsequently featured as a soloist at the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, UK singing the famous aria ‘Un bel dÌ, vedremo’, with Maestro Nicola Luisotti for the Insights Program Concert.

Other notable engagements include the starring soprano role of Roberta Alden in An American Tragedy by Tobias Picker and librettist Gene Scheer with Glimmerglass Opera. She was thrilled to be featured by The New York Times in a video clip depicting her singing at the beginning of the eerily famous drowning scene. New York Arts wrote, “Vanessa Isiguen, Roberta, was completely convincing as the tragic heroine both vocally and dramatically”, and Classical Voice America described Vanessa as, “A strong, well rounded soprano who sang the fiendishly high and difficult role easily.” She also sang the role of Spirit at the Metropolitan Opera workshop of THE SORROWS OF FREDERICK by Scott Wheeler, conducted by Steven Osgood, and the New York City premiere of the Spanish opera IL POSTINO by Daniel Catàn as Beatrice Russo.

Vanessa made her debut with the Oregon Symphony as a featured soloist under the baton of Maestro Carlos Kalmar, and her Portland Opera debut as Mimì in LA BOHÈME with Maestro George Manahan to rave reviews. Opera News boasts, “Vanessa Isiguen brought to Mimì good looks, a lovely soprano, and loads of personality… ‘Si, mi chiamano Mimì’ had variety and nuance from spinto bloom to light chatter.” Vanessa was scheduled to return to Portland Opera in the 2020 season as Nedda in PAGLIACCI and after COVID-19 cancellations, she performed the aria ‘Dis-moi que je suis belle’ from Massenet’s THAÏS in the Portland Opera Virtual Benefit Concert in October of 2020.

Vanessa is very proud of her multicultural Filipino (paternal), Cuban and Russian (maternal) heritage, and curated a live-stream virtual recital featuring composers who reflect her ancestry, such as Fernando Obradors and Sergei Rachmaninov. This was presented by Portland Opera with pianist Nicholas Fox in the winter of 2020. Other concert engagements include her debut with Chamber Music Northwest as the soprano soloist in Mozart’s Notturni for Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, Baritone and Three Basset Horns. She was a returning soloist for the Portland Opera Gala concerts with orchestra conducted by Maestro George Manahan singing selections from PAGLIACCI, by Leoncavallo, Puccini’s LA RONDINE and MADAMA BUTTERFLY and LA WALLY by Alfredo Catalani.

Other roles include Liù in TURANDOT, Magda in LA RONDINE, Nedda in PAGLIACCI , THAÏS by Jules Massenet, RUSALKA by Antonín Dvořák, Micaëla and Frasquita in CARMEN, La Contessa and Susanna in LE NOZZE DI FÍGARO, Donna Elvira in DON GIOVANNI , Pamina in DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE and Adina in L’ELISIR D’AMORE. Vanessa has performed with companies such as The Metropolitan Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Portland Opera, Sarasota Opera, Opera Tampa, Vashon Opera, Opera Idaho, and Eugene Opera. She has won top prizes from Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, The Gerda Lissner Foundation NYC, Connecticut Opera Guild, Jenny Lind Competition, and the Bel Canto Competition. Vanessa holds a Bachelor of Music from UNC Chapel Hill, a Master of Music from Boston Conservatory, and a Professional Studies in Opera Diploma from Mannes College of Music - The New School in New York City where she studied with the revered soprano Ruth Falcon.