Soprano Lisa Buhelos has been praised for her “high pitched virtuosity” (News-Gazette) as well as her “soaring” and “supple” voice (San Diego Story). A native of Chicago, Lisa is passionate about storytelling and has been commended for her performances of high energy, comedic characters.

This past summer, Lisa was an apprentice artist with Opera NEO, performing the role of Despina in Così fan tutte, during which she was described as projecting “an aptly sly, manipulative confidence” (San Diego Story). She has been a Festival Artist at Opera Saratoga for two seasons, performing in A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder (Woman 3, Phoebe D’Ysquith cover), Man of La Mancha (Aldonza cover), and Don Quixote at Camacho’s Wedding (Quiteria). This past year, she also participated in Opera Saratoga’s outreach show as Bebe Barbelle in Katie: The Strongest of the Strong. Last year, Lisa was a Gate City Bank Young Artist with Fargo-Moorhead Opera Company. There, she performed Musetta in La bohème where she was described as “captivating”, “vivacious and irresistible” (Inform). She also premiered the role of Trish in Everything Comes to a Head. Other training programs include the American Institute of Musical Studies where Buhelos performed in both their Summer Festival Orchestra Concert and Operetta Concert. More notable roles include Sharp-Ears, the Vixen in The Cunning Little Vixen and Deb in Ordinary Days.

Lisa has become known as a crossover singer, performing both coloratura soprano repertoire and belt musical theatre. Throughout her education, she cross-trained between these two styles, performing frequently in both operas and musicals. Her extensive experience in musical theatre has led to exciting collaborations, including frequent performances with Nathan and Julie Gunn in their concert series, A Stroll Down Broadway with Nathan Gunn.

Lisa holds a Master of Music in vocal performance and literature from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. During her time at Illinois, she received the Sara De Mundo Award. There she studied with Yvonne Gonzales Redman and Sarah Wrigley.