Opera’s Rising Star: San Miguel de Allende

By John Challis, Board Member, Operísima Mexico

Beyond its celebrated visual arts and cultural festivals, San Miguel de Allende has earned a reputation as one of Mexico’s leading opera destinations. The longstanding seasonal contributions of several esteemed opera organizations continue to sustain a vibrant tradition of training programs, concerts, and competitions that attract emerging artists and audiences from around the world.

Since beginning its activities in San Miguel de Allende four years ago, Operísima México Opera Studio has become an important contributor to the city’s vibrant cultural and operatic life, providing advanced training opportunities for emerging singers while enriching the community through performances and artistic collaboration. Operisima is a year-round Opera studio and accommodates up to 16 resident artists ,providing it with the opportunity to offer intensive training throughout the year.

Operísima México was founded in 2022 by Rogelio Ríojas-Nolasco, whose vision was to establish a world-class opera studio where emerging artists could receive intensive training, gain valuable stage experience, and prepare for international careers. Under his leadership, young singers have advanced to major international competitions and begun launching professional careers. Last season, the studio presented nine fully staged operas and ten concerts in San Miguel de Allende, providing resident artists with invaluable professional experience before live audiences. While training remains at the heart of the program, performing principal and supporting roles in public productions allows singers to develop the artistic, musical, and theatrical skills essential for successful careers. These performances have also enriched San Miguel’s cultural life, offering local audiences a growing season of high-quality opera productions.

Operísima Arioso International Summer Institute for Opera Singers, June 14 – July 18

In its most ambitious project to date, Operísima México has launched the Operísima Arioso International Summer Institute for Opera Singers. On June 14, thirty-eight emerging artists from Mexico, Korea, China, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Canada, and Germany assembled in San Miguel together with an internationally acclaimed faculty for five weeks of intensive training and performance.

Led by Rogelio Ríojas-Nolasco, the distinguished faculty includes Venezuelan-American soprano María Brea; Pei Wen Chen of the Mannes School of Music; Italian bass-baritone and diction coach Stefano de Peppo; Susan Dunn-Rachleff of the Shepherd School of Music; Finnish-Canadian soprano and stage director Eilana Lappalainen; Craig Rutenberg, former head of the Metropolitan Opera Music Staff; Mexican soprano Alejandra Sandoval; and former Metropolitan Opera tenor Eduardo Valdés.

The Summer Institute is designed to equip the next generation of singers with the skills, experience, and confidence needed for successful international careers. The program offers immersive instruction in voice, vocal coaching, acting, movement, language, and stagecraft while providing opportunities to perform in public concerts and fully staged operas. The insitute's productions will include Puccini’s La Bohème and Bizet’s Carmen, presented at the Teatro Principal in Guanajuato and Teatro del Bicentenario, in León.

Beyond its intensive training program, the Arioso International Summer Institute further strengthens San Miguel de Allende’s growing reputation as a center for operatic excellence. By bringing together emerging artists and distinguished faculty from North America, Europe, and Asia, the Institute creates a vibrant environment for artistic exchange and collaboration. For local audiences, the program offers a unique opportunity to witness the development of future Opera stars through concerts, master classes, and staged productions.

Following the completion of the Arioso Summer Institute, Operísima México has been invited to participate in the 21st International Festival of the Aegean, one of the Eastern Mediterranean’s most respected international opera festivals. This invitation provides the studio’s singers with the opportunity to perform on an international stage while representing San Miguel de Allende and Mexico. For more than two decades, the festival has brought together emerging and established artists from around the world for opera, concerts, recitals, and educational programs. Hosted in the historic Apollo Theater in Ermoupolis on the island of Syros, the festival is recognized internationally for its artistic excellence. To make this extraordinary opportunity possible, Operísima México is inviting supporters to help bring its talented young singers to this internationally respected festival through its “Adopt a Singer” campaign.

Operísima is deeply grateful for the continued support of the San Miguel de Allende community, whose generosity has enabled us to advance our mission, nurture exceptional young artists, and create meaningful opportunities for the next generation of opera professionals.

Public performances by the participants are taking place throughout June and July.

Information about concerts and productions is available at operisimamexico.com