A capable singer and actor, compelling on stage” (LA Times), “flirtatious, sensual, sympathetic, full of fire and stellar in her vocal performance" (Daze Magazine, Canada), Puerto Rican mezzo-soprano Laura Virella is currently best known on the operatic stage for her collection of complex, strong, independent and outspoken Latin women: Carmen, Frida, Luisa Fernanda, Rosina, Desideria (The Saint of Bleecker Street), Maddalena—indeed, roles that seem tailor-made for her temperament. But the mezzo-soprano is more interested in the nuance of the very real people she represents on stage and in the way stories are told and by whom, an interest that draws her to meaningful chamber music, themed and interdisciplinary recital collaborations, and the unique sense of adventure in discovering previously overlooked or newly written works. As a recitalist, she has sought to champion the vastly underperformed classical repertoire of her country of Puerto Rico. She’s put together several programs with friend and collaborator Nathaniel LaNasa, presenting art song from the island on its own, or interwoven within a theme alongside standard literature by Fauré, Strauss, Debussy, Korngold, Schubert, Schumann.