ELIZA BONET
Mezzo-Soprano
Caribbean-American Mezzo-Soprano Eliza Bonet continues to garner critical praise for her “sparkling, uninhibited delivery” (SF Classical Music Examiner) and “full, bright, warm sound” (Mercury News). Ms. Bonet recently made her Carnegie Hall debut singing selections from Manos Indocumentados by Jorge Lockward with the Mimesis Ensemble. The program entitled "A Long Way From Home" explored migration journeys and the trials and tribulations one faces within them.
Most recently, Ms. Bonet made a role and company debut with Opera Southwest as the title role in Frida - an opera based on the life of famed Mexican Artist, Frida Kahlo.
In 2019, Ms. Bonet debuted with the San Francisco Symphony this June to present the role of Fyodor in Modest Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov. She joined an internationally renowned cast under the baton of Michael Tilson Thomas.
In the 2017/18 season, as a member of the prestigious Washington National Opera’s Cafritz Young Artist Program, presented her role debut as Bradamante in Handel’s Alcina. She later debuted with WNO as Paquette in Bernstein’s Candide as a part of the Kennedy Center’s Leonard Bernstein at 100 celebration, conducted by Nicole Paiement and directed by Francesca Zambello. Also as part of the Bernstein at 100 Celebration, Ms. Bonet made her debut with the National Symphony Orchestra as an ensemble member in Bernstein’s West Side Story conducted by Steven Reineke.
In the 2018/19 season, Ms. Bonet debuted with The Atlanta Opera performing Rosalia in Francesca Zambello's production of West Side Story. She then returned to the Kennedy Center with Washintong National Opera to star as Nelda in the World Premiere of Taking Up Serpents by Kamala Sankaram and Jerre Dye. Demonstrating her strength in new opera , Ms. Bonet was praised for "showing richly dark colors in her voice and used her every moment to great dramatic effect..."(DCTheatreScene)and "brought a fierce energy to the conflicted Nelda." (Wall Street Journal).
Bonet made her New York debut in June of 2017 starring as The Domme and Jillian DeBridge in the premiere of Robert Paterson and David Cote's Three-Way with performances at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, followed by a recording of the work through the Nashville Opera where she originally premiered the role in January. Her work on the album was described by Opera News as: "Bonet's voice, taut as black leather, ascend to triumphant top notes over snaking leitmotifs...". 6 time Grammy Award winning producer, Blanton Alspaugh, produced the album, and the release of the album was celebrated in the fall of 2017.
Additional recent appearances include as Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro with Opera Williamsburg, Annina in La Traviata with Opera Maine, Mercedes in Carmen and Tisbe in La Cenerentola with Pensacola Opera, Maddalena in Rigoletto with Shreveport Opera, Dinah in Trouble in Tahiti and Kate Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly with PORTOpera, Dorothée in Cendrillon with Kentucky Opera, and Nettie Fowler for Opera on the Avalon's Carousel.
As a member of the prestigious Merola Program at San Francisco Opera, Bonet performed the role of Eunice in the company’s production of Previn's A Streetcar Named Desire in addition to covering the role of Zerlina in Don Giovanni. Previously a Young Artist with Florida Grand Opera, she performed the roles of Krystyna in Weinberg's The Passenger and Berta in Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia. She was a Gerdine Young Artist with Opera Theatre of St. Louis in 2012, where she covered the roles of the White Rabbit and the March Hare in the USA premiere of Unsuk Chin’s Alice in Wonderland.
On the concert stage, she has appeared as soloist for Mozart’s Requiem with Opera on the Gate in Upstate New York, Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms with the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra, and Handel’s Messiah with St. Mary’s Catholic Church. Ms Bonet will be performing as the Mezzo-Soprano soloist in Verdi's Requiem for the first time in May of 2022 with the Norwalk Symphony.
Bonet’s numerous awards include an Encouragement Award from the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in 2013, as well as being named a finalist for the Opera Birmingham Competition the same year. She received the Joe Festervan Memorial Award In 2012 from the Mary Jacobs Smith Shreveport Opera Singer of the Year Competition, and completed her graduate degree from Florida State University in 2011.