Alessia Vitali is an Italian-Canadian mezzo-soprano from Montréal, Québec, praised for her “dedication to character and spine-tingling freedom” (emerging artist reviews). She has been heard in a wide variety of roles, including Rosina in Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia, Ma Moss in Copland’s The Tender Land, Carmen in La Tragédie de Carmen by Bizet, and Cherubino in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro. In the Canadian premiere of Jonathan Dove’s Mansfield Park, she covered the role of Fanny Price and premiered new works by Canadian composers.
Alessia returns to Calgary Opera in the 2025–26 season for her second year in the McPhee Artist Development Program. She will appear as Kate Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, perform dual roles as Mother/Grandmother in the family-friendly production of Little Red Riding Hood, and serve as the understudy for Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia.
During the 2024–25 season, she made her Calgary Opera mainstage debut as La Ciesca in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, sang the title role in The Witty Squirrel, and completed a role study of Donna Elvira in Mozart’s Don Giovanni.
Recent performances include portraying Warren's Wife in the world premiere of the chamber arrangement of The Handmaid's Tale by Poul Ruders, presented by the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, Miles in The Turn of the Screw with Grand River Opera, Magdalena in Verdi’s Rigoletto, and Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro with Opera by Request. She also performed Mercédès in Bizet’s Carmen with Southern Ontario Lyric Opera and Signora Guidotti in Chautauqua Opera Conservatory’s I due Timidi by Nino Rota.
In summer 2025, Alessia joined the North York Concert Orchestra as the alto soloist in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 and was an artist-in-residence at the Banff Centre, performing in the world premiere of The Handmaid’s Tale.
Additional highlights include Rosina with Mississauga Symphony Orchestra, Mercedes in Carmen with No Strings Theatre & Opera by Request, and the Old Lady in Candide with the North York Concert Orchestra. In summer 2022, she sang the title role in Handel’s Serse with Chicago Summer Opera.
Alessia holds a Master of Music in Opera Performance and a Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance from the University of Toronto, where she studied under Elizabeth McDonald. During her time there, she was awarded the Sandra H. Opera Scholarship and the ARIAS Selma & Bruno Zlemit Scholarship.
Her professional development includes masterclasses with acclaimed artists such as Susan Graham, Denyce Graves, Joyce El-Khoury, and Emily D’Angelo, as well as participation in elite training programs including the Chautauqua Opera Conservatory, St. Andrew’s Arts Council Opera Workshop, Orford Music Academy, Centre for Opera Studies in Italy, Long Reach Opera, Against the Grain National Opera Intensive and NYU Vocal Summer Intensive.
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