American opera singer Erica Thelen is a young dramatic soprano from Minnesota. She currently studies voice with esteemed soprano Rhoslyn Jones at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where she recently earned her Masters degree. She received her Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance from Oberlin College and Conservatory, studying with Marlene Rosen and Kendra Colton.

In March, 2024 she made her role debut as “Ma Zegner” in Proving Up by Missy Mazzoli with SFCM Opera. Recent engagements include “First Lady” in Die Zauberflöte by Mozart with the Santa Rosa Symphony and covering the title role in Suor Angelica at the Chautauqua Opera Conservatory. Other recent performances include opera scene performances of the title role in Alcina by Händel, “Fiordiligi” in Cosi fan tutte, by Mozart, and “Sister Rose” in Dead Man Walking by Jake Heggie.

During her time at Oberlin, she created the role of the “Mermaid/Mother” in the world premiere of The Wild Beast of the Bungalow by Rachel J. Peters, made her role debut at “Elisetta” in Il Matrimonio Segreto by Cimarosa, and performed in a variety of opera scenes in roles such as “Rosalinde” in Die Fledermaus by J. Strauss, and “Anne Trulove” in Stravinsky’s The Rake's Progress.

Other role credits include “Donna Elvira” in Mozart’s Don Giovanni and “Musetta” in La Bohème by Puccini. She has had the privilege to sing for esteemed professional musicians, such as Christine Goerke, Howard Watkins, and Lester Lynch.

In 2017, Erica was an apprentice artist with the Minnesota Opera: Project Opera Program, where she performed in pre-concerts at the Minnesota Orchestra Hall, created the role of “Natalie” in the world premiere of Renaldo Moya’s The Memory Boy and played “The Emperor” in The Nightingale by Imant Raminsch.

She is also trained and comfortable when performing across musical genres and has excelled when performing musical theater roles. She has performed “Fraulein Schneider” in Cabaret, “Gussie Carnegie” in Merrily We Roll Along, “Lily” in The Secret Garden, and “Ado Annie” in Oklahoma!.

Erica has a personal passion for integrating classical vocal repertoire into modern contexts that are relevant to today's audiences. During her final year at Oberlin, she created a voice recital entitled Erica Carnea: An Epilogue, which combined spoken word and musical works to create vignettes about her life, women empowerment, processing trauma, and personal growth.

She plans to continue to program relevant works that highlight under represented composers and serve as a storyteller for today’s most compelling and important issues. She feels strongly about the power of live theatrical performance and its vital role in creating space and access for all.Born in Minnesota, Erica grew up in an extremely musical family. She has fond memories of watching her parents on stage in community theater productions, as well as listening to her mother teach voice lessons and sing in the Minnesota Opera Chorus. Erica's greatest career goal is to inspire others with music, as her parents inspired her.