Biography
Acclaimed as “sensitive and impassioned” by Opera News, mezzo-soprano Felicia Gavilanes has gained a reputation as an exciting and versatile singing actress. An Emerging Artist Alumna with Boston Lyric Opera, Felicia is a frequent performer in both mainstage and concert roles in Boston and beyond. In her recent performance as Ino in Lord of Cries with Boston Modern Orchestra Project, which was nominated for a 2024 Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording, Opera Magazine (UK) praised her “luscious mezzo” and the Boston Globe wrote “Even better were Leah Brzyski, Rachel Blaustein, and Felicia Gavilanes as the three sisters.” Following her 2019 performance as The Double in Paul Ruder’s The Handmaid’s Tale with BLO, the Wall Street Journal wrote “Felicia Gavilanes brought a poignant innocence to Offred in the Time Before,” and Opera Magazine noted her “touching vulnerability.”
Recent album releases include Felicia’s first full-length album, La Sera, a collection of song settings of the poetry of Gabriele d’Annunzio, as well as full-length operatic releases Lord of Cries on the Pentatone label, The Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, and The Voyage of Edgar Allan Poe for the BMOP Sound. Upcoming album releases include Sappho in the world premiere recording of Mark Adam’s Lysistrata for Pentatone. Felicia will next be seen onstage as the Alto Soloist for Mahler’s Second Symphony with the Santa Barbara Symphony.
Felicia is a recipient of Berklee College’s Faculty Recording Grant, Boston Lyric Opera’s Stephen Shrestinian Award for Excellence, Opera America’s Career Blueprints grant, the Beaulieu Award in Opera, the Gallaher Award, and the Edith S. Joel Fellowship in Opera.
A dual citizen of the U.S. and Italy, Felicia completed her Bachelor of Arts in Italian Literature and Music from Dartmouth College. She received her Master of Music with Honors from the New England Conservatory and her Doctorate from Florida State University. She teaches for the Voice Faculties of the Boston Conservatory, Berklee College, and as a guest vocal coach for Anshan Normal University in Anshan, China, and is thrilled to join the Voice Faculty of the Longy School of Music.
Teaching Philosophy
As an educator, I delight in acting as a guide to student-led exploration, facilitating each student’s discovery, and helping remove barriers for each young artist to discover their unique voice.