About this Artist

Maria Elena Altany is a third generation Xicana soprano, known for her acrobatic high notes and daring performances on the cutting edge of opera. Her roles with LA Opera include Susanna in ¡Figaro!(90210) and Sacrifice in the premiere of Las Tres Mujeres de Jerusalén conducted by James Conlon. She recently starred in Mark Grey’s Birds in The Moon, and the LA Times declared that she “soars in song.” She performed the role at the New York Philharmonic’s Bandwagon 2 Festival, and at The Broad Stage in Santa Monica. LA Philharmonic appearances include Cage’s Europeras 1 & 2 and Steiger’s Nimbus with The Industry, and Ragnar Kjartansson’s BLISS with wild Up!. She is a Company Member of The Industry, led by MacArthur Fellow Yuval Sharon, and has performed featured roles in Crescent City, Invisible Cities, and Hopscotch: An Opera for 24 Cars, (for which she was featured in The New Yorker) among others. Other contemporary music credits include the workshop of Esperanza Spalding and Wayne Shorter’s opera ...(Iphigenia), and John Luther Adams’ Sila, Breath of the World at the Ojai Music Festival. She maintains a private voice studio in Long Beach, CA.

Photo credit: Laura Pardo Photography