Cuban-American soprano Elena Villalón is already attracting major industry attention at just 26 years old. She is winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and Third Prize and Audience Prize at the Operalia competition. The 2024–25 season sees Elena make two major appearances in New York: Nuria in Osvaldo Golijov’s Ainadamar at the Met, and her solo recital debut at Carnegie Hall. She also returns to Santa Fe as Gilda in Rigoletto and makes her debuts as Almirena in Rinaldo at Detroit Opera and the title role of Rodelinda at Oper Frankfurt, where she can also be heard as Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro and Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier.  

Last season Elena made her Met debut as Amore in Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice and sang Sheila in the world premiere of Gregory Spears and Tracy K. Smith’s The Righteous at Santa Fe Opera. Roles at Oper Frankfurt include Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro, Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, Frasquita in Carmen, Iole in Hercules, and Atalanta in Xerxes. Other recent engagements include Tina in Flight and Gretel in Hänsel und Gretel, both at Dallas Opera; Nannetta in Falstaff in Santa Fe; and Amy in the world premiere of Joel Thompson’s The Snowy Day at Houston Grand Opera.   

Elena is an alumna of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and Houston Grand Opera Studio. She made her professional debut at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis as Barbarina in Le nozze di Figaro and later returned there for Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi.