Denis Vélez

Soprano

Ryan Opera Center Ensemble

Denis Vélez is sponsored by The C.G. Pinnell Family.

Third-year soprano Denis Vélez, from Puebla, Mexico, was a national winner of the 2020 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition. In the National Singing Contest Carlo Morelli, her performance earned her the First Prize, the French Opera Award and the Francisco Araiza Special Award. Most recently, she was named the 2022 Luminarts Fellow in Classical Music, Women’s Voice. Vélez’s repertoire includes the Countess and Susanna/The Marriage of Figaro, Bastienne/Bastien und Bastienne, Fiordiligi/Così fan tutte, Adina/The Elixir of Love, and Mimì/La bohème. Prior to her arrival in Chicago, Vélez was a member of the National Opera Chorus at Mexico City’s internationally celebrated Palacio de Bellas Artes. The soprano holds a bachelor’s degree in operatic singing from Mexico’s Superior School of Music. Among her appearances in Chicago is the Beyond the Aria series at the Harris Theater, for which she performed alongside Joyce DiDonato.

Vélez appeared in Lyric’s 2020/21 virtual programs Pasión Latina, Sole e Amore, Magical Music Around the World, and Rising Stars in Concert.

For the 2021/22 season, Vélez sang in Sunday in the Park with Lyric’s Rising Stars and as the Third Apparition/Macbeth, Giannetta/The Elixir of Love, and Papagena/The Magic Flute.

During the 2022/23 season, Vélez will appear in Don Carlos, Hansel and Gretel, and Carmen.
Later, she makes her company debut at San Francisco Opera in El último sueño de Frida y Diego.

Featured videos

Swipe

“In solitaria stanza” with Denis Vélez

In this excerpt from “Sole e Amore,” Ryan Opera Center soprano Denis Vélez performs one of Verdi’s best-known songs, “In solitaria stanza” (“In a lonely room”), with Maestro Enrique Mazzola on piano.

"Suzel, buon dì” (Cherry Duet) with Martin Luther Clark & Denis Vélez

Spring has sprung! In this cheery excerpt from Lyric's 2021 Rising Stars in Concert, tenor Martin Luther Clark (Fritz) and soprano Denis Vélez (Suzel) sing of the beauty of flowers and spring in the Cherry Duet, "Suzel, buon dì," from Mascagni's L'AMICO FRITZ.

"Das Zauberlied” with Martin Luther Clark and the 2020/21 Ryan Opera Center Ensemble

In this lively excerpt from Magical Music Around the World, tenor Martin Luther Clark performs "Das Zauberlied” (“The Magic Song”) with the 2020/21 Ryan Opera Center Ensemble and Music Director Craig Terry on piano.

“M’ama…non m’ama” with Denis Vélez

In this clip from Sole e Amore, Ryan Opera Center soprano Denis Vélez performs Mascagni’s “M’ama…non m’ama” (“He loves me…he loves me not”), with Maestro Mazzola on piano.

“La Llorona” with Denis Vélez

Accompanying herself on guitar, first-year Ryan Opera Center soprano Denis Vélez performs “La Llorona” ("The Weeping Woman"), a Mexican folk song based on the legendary story, in Pasión Latina. Young fans may recognize this song from the hit 2017 Disney movie, Coco.

Featured photos

Swipe