Acclaimed as “sensitive and impassioned” by Opera News, Italian American mezzo-soprano Felicia Gavilanes is gaining 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. Of 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, the Boston Globe wrote “Even better were Leah Brzyski, Rachel Blaustein, and Felicia Gavilanes as the three sisters, eerie and prophetic…” 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 praised her “touching vulnerability.” Other roles with Boston Lyric Opera include Rosina in The Barber of Seville Outreach and Rosina (cover) in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, First Bridesmaid, and Cherubino (cover) in Le Nozze di Figaro.

Felicia recently made her Jordan Hall debut as Ino in Boston Modern Orchestra Project and Odyssey Opera’s East Cost Premiere of John Corigliano’s Lord of Cries, starring Anthony Roth Costanzo, and a return to Latin America as an invited soloist with the National Conservatory Symphony Orchestra of the Dominican Republic in an evening of opera arias and duets.

Late Fall 2024 will see the release of Felicia’s first full-length album, a collaboration with pianist Jean Anderson. Felicia will next be seen onstage as Hansel in Hansel and Gretel with Mobile Opera in fall 2024.

Recent company and role debuts include Boston Modern Orchestra Project (Lulu in The Jumping Frog of Calaveras County), Salt Marsh Opera (Mercedes in Carmen), Teatro Lírico Nacional de Cuba (Dido in Dido and Aeneas), Odyssey Opera (Léœna in La Belle Hélène), Winter Opera St. Louis (Zulma in L'Italiana in Algeri), and Gulfshore Opera (Maria in Lauda per la natività).

Other operatic roles include Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Mrs. DeRocher in Dead Man Walking, Flora in La Traviata, Baba the Turk in The Rake’s Progress, Asakir in Sumeida’s Song, Tisbe in La Cenerentola, and La Ciesca in Gianni Schicchi.

Recent soloist performances include Haydn’s “Paukenmesse,” Mozart’s Coronation Mass, the Mozart Requiem, the Vivaldi Gloria, Mendelssohn's “Elijah,” an evening of Mozart with the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra, and numerous recital engagements with Boston Lyric Opera. Inspired by foreign languages and travel, Felicia has been featured in engagements from the Gran Teatro de la Habana to the Staatstheater Darmstadt to the Basilica di Santa Maria in Trastevere, Rome.

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. Felicia is a recent finalist in the MetroWest Opera Vocal Competition for Emerging Artists and a prize winner of Mobile Opera’s Madame Rose Competition.

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.