A debonair stranger, Nick Shadow, appears to Tom Rakewell and tempts him with the chance to reimagine his future. As Nick conjures a series of enticing adventures for Tom, Anne Trulove fights for Tom’s salvation. Written in Stravinsky’s neoclassical period, Stravinsky’s only full-length opera score sparkles with elegant vocal writing and lively dance rhythms.
The House on Mango Street, a coming-of-age classic, has been acclaimed by critics, beloved by readers of all ages, taught in schools and universities alike, and translated around the world. Novelist Sandra Cisneros, winner of the PEN/Nabokov Award for Achievement in International Literature, has teamed up with Grammy-nominated composer Derek Bermel for an opera inspired by her classic book, which unfolds in a series of episodes seen through the eyes of a young girl. Through a series of interactions, which range from fascinating to funny to frightening, she comes to understand that storytelling is the medicine she can offer her community — and herself.
Damien Geter and Lila Palmer's American Apollo gives voice to a pivotal figure in American art: Thomas Eugene McKeller, a Black hotel worker who served as model and muse for famous portraitist John Singer Sargent. As a work of historical fiction, the opera imagines the story behind Sargent’s spare, nude portrait and sensual sketches of McKeller, whose image was transformed by Sargent into white-skinned Greek gods featured prominently in murals throughout Boston's Musuem of Fine Arts. Themes of erasure, the white gaze and the intimate relationship between the two men are explored in this powerful new work.
Salvadoran-American coloratura soprano Sarah Rosales is notably known for her performance of the U.S national anthem for the 7th Democratic Presidential Debate in the 2020 election cycle. The event led her to make history, becoming the first Salvadoran individual to sing on CNN LIVE International. Opera career highlights include covering the role Isabella Stewart Gardner in the world premiere of Damien Geter’s American Apollo (Des Moines Metro Opera), Belle (Beauty & the Beast, Des Moines Metro Opera’s Opera Iowa program), & Lauretta/Nan Wood Graham (Gianni Schicchi/American Gothical, Cedar Rapids Opera).
In spring of 2025, Sarah premiered a new art song by Dr. Maria Thompson Corley titled “Dreams” at The George Shirley Vocal Competition as part of her commission award won during the 2024 competition cycle, generously sponsored by Grammy Award winning soprano Karen Slack. In summer of 2025 she appears as a resident artist with The Glimmerglass Festival, performing as Alícia in the world premiere of The House on Mango Street by Derek Bermel and Sandra Cisneros, and in the ensemble of Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress.
In addition to opera, Sarah frequently performs musical theater, pop, and cumbia repertoire. She is the recipient of numerous awards at the district and regional levels of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, and has received awards from organizations including Opera Mississippi, The Schubert Club, National Society of Arts & Letters, Musicians Club of Women, the Edvard Grieg Society of Minnesota/the Dakotas, & The George Shirley Vocal Competition.
A debonair stranger, Nick Shadow, appears to Tom Rakewell and tempts him with the chance to reimagine his future. As Nick conjures a series of enticing adventures for Tom, Anne Trulove fights for Tom’s salvation. Written in Stravinsky’s neoclassical period, Stravinsky’s only full-length opera score sparkles with elegant vocal writing and lively dance rhythms.
The House on Mango Street, a coming-of-age classic, has been acclaimed by critics, beloved by readers of all ages, taught in schools and universities alike, and translated around the world. Novelist Sandra Cisneros, winner of the PEN/Nabokov Award for Achievement in International Literature, has teamed up with Grammy-nominated composer Derek Bermel for an opera inspired by her classic book, which unfolds in a series of episodes seen through the eyes of a young girl. Through a series of interactions, which range from fascinating to funny to frightening, she comes to understand that storytelling is the medicine she can offer her community — and herself.
Damien Geter and Lila Palmer's American Apollo gives voice to a pivotal figure in American art: Thomas Eugene McKeller, a Black hotel worker who served as model and muse for famous portraitist John Singer Sargent. As a work of historical fiction, the opera imagines the story behind Sargent’s spare, nude portrait and sensual sketches of McKeller, whose image was transformed by Sargent into white-skinned Greek gods featured prominently in murals throughout Boston's Musuem of Fine Arts. Themes of erasure, the white gaze and the intimate relationship between the two men are explored in this powerful new work.
Salvadoran-American coloratura soprano Sarah Rosales is notably known for her performance of the U.S national anthem for the 7th Democratic Presidential Debate in the 2020 election cycle. The event led her to make history, becoming the first Salvadoran individual to sing on CNN LIVE International. Opera career highlights include covering the role Isabella Stewart Gardner in the world premiere of Damien Geter’s American Apollo (Des Moines Metro Opera), Belle (Beauty & the Beast, Des Moines Metro Opera’s Opera Iowa program), & Lauretta/Nan Wood Graham (Gianni Schicchi/American Gothical, Cedar Rapids Opera).
In spring of 2025, Sarah premiered a new art song by Dr. Maria Thompson Corley titled “Dreams” at The George Shirley Vocal Competition as part of her commission award won during the 2024 competition cycle, generously sponsored by Grammy Award winning soprano Karen Slack. In summer of 2025 she appears as a resident artist with The Glimmerglass Festival, performing as Alícia in the world premiere of The House on Mango Street by Derek Bermel and Sandra Cisneros, and in the ensemble of Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress.
In addition to opera, Sarah frequently performs musical theater, pop, and cumbia repertoire. She is the recipient of numerous awards at the district and regional levels of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, and has received awards from organizations including Opera Mississippi, The Schubert Club, National Society of Arts & Letters, Musicians Club of Women, the Edvard Grieg Society of Minnesota/the Dakotas, & The George Shirley Vocal Competition.