A life-long performer, Puerto Rican-American tenor Gariel Hernandez has been heralded for recent performances as “a wonderful tenor” (Operawire), and “the highlight of the performance.” (Maryland Thater Guide) Gabriel’s strong belief in the power of community and collaboration to create meaningful art has inspired them to collaborate with other queer community members in New York City on showcasing their locational and personal experiences. Through this, Gabriel debuted their photo series Taking Up Space: Queer Identity in Opera in 2021 at the Countee Cullen Library in New York City. In the fall of 2022, Gabriel was spotlighted for their portrayal of a queer Abraham Lincoln by America’s oldest LGBTQ newspaper the Washington Blade.

Gabriel’s 23/24 season includes three role debuts as well as the mounting of a new production of Carmen. They will portray Remendado in Hogish Festival’s CarmXn, debut the role of Le Comte Barigoule in Pauline Viardot’s Cendrillon with Resonance Works, and return to Opera Ithaca to portray Peter Quint in Britten’s Turn of the Screw. Their 22/23 season included a role debut as Torquemada in Ravel’s L’Heure Espagnole with New Camerata Opera, followed by performances with Quarry Theater in the world premiere of Yours Forever, Lincoln, where they portrayed the title character, as well as a company debut with Opera Ithaca as Pluto in an English translation of Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld.

Gabriel began their 2021-22 season as a Gate-City Bank resident artist at Fargo-Moorhead Opera where he made a role debut as Joe in Robert Paterson’s Companion, sang the Sergeant in the Barber of Seville, and helped to reimagine FM Opera’s outreach program through digital interactions with local schools. Merola Opera invited Gabriel to participate in their 2021 program led by a new team of artistic directors, where they were featured in the award winning film project Back Home: Through the Stage Door directed by David Paul. He then joined the Lakes Area Music Festival as a Vocal Fellow, and closed out the season by returning to Fargo Moorhead on the main stage as Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, while their photo series Taking Up Space concurrently debuted in Harlem at the Countee Cullen Library.

The 2020-21 season brought both in person and online performances. Digitally, Gabriel performed in an online broadcast with No Dominion Theatre Company that dove into the inspiration behind HindSight, a new crime Opera, and participated in Merola Opera’s online enrichment program where he received coaching with Martin Katz. On stage prior to the COVID-19 Pandemic, Gabriel made their company debut as Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni with Bronx Opera, and was a Gate-City Bank Young Artist with Fargo-Moorhead Opera, where they performed Michael Ching’s Speed Dating, Tonight! Gabriel is the recipient of a 2019 Career Bridges Grant and was chosen to participate in OPERA America’s 2019 Career Blueprints for Singers, both providing support for young artists to launch their careers.