Iryna Photography
ABOUT FRANCESCA
Indian-American soprano Francesca Mehrotra has been hailed as “a talented and warm actor and singer” with “clear, deft and nimble tone (Glens Falls Chronicle).” At a young age, Francesca found her home in the opera community while singing in the children’s chorus of Carmen at Wolf Trap Opera. Since then, she has conquered several leading roles at distinguished companies such as Fort Worth Opera, Opera Birmingham, Seagle Festival, and Opera NEO. Most recently, Francesca appeared as a finalist in the 2022 Lotte Lenya Competition. In the 2022-2023 season, Francesca will be an Apprentice Artist at Central City Opera, where she will cover Clara in The Light in the Piazza and sing Ida in Die Fledermaus. In September, she will begin her yearlong residency at Opera Colorado, where she will cover Gilda and sing Countess Ceprano in Rigoletto, as well as sing Gilda in the student matinee performance. Also at Opera Colorado, Francesca will sing Mabel in the touring production of Pirates of Penzance, Juliet in the touring production of Romeo & Juliet (Gounod), and Juliette in Die Tote Stadt. Other notable operatic roles include Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro), Cleopatra (Giulio Cesare in Egitto), Norina (Don Pasquale), Gretel (Hansel and Gretel), Atalanta (Serse), Tytania (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Nannetta (Falstaff), and Suor Genovieffa (Suor Angelica).
Equally comfortable in 21st-century repertoire, Francesca will participate in a workshop of This is Not That Dawn, a new opera which tells the story of two women separated during the partition of India. Francesca made her role debut as Mukhtar Mai in a virtual production of Kamala Sankaram's Thumbprint at the Boston Conservatory. She sang in the original reading and workshop of Evan Mack and Joshua McGuire’s The Ghosts of Gatsby, where she sang Zelda '18, later reprising this role with Opera Birmingham at the New Works Forum through Opera America. Francesca continued collaborating with Mack on Regret and Redemption, a song cycle for soprano that she commissioned through Texas Christian University. Additionally, Francesca was selected to participate in Fort Worth Opera’s Frontiers Festival, a new music initiative that showcases new operatic works, and was a two-time featured soloist in the Festival of American Song with Jake Heggie and John Corigliano.
Francesca is a proud alumna of Seagle Festival’s Emerging Artist Program, which she attended for three summers. She holds a Master of Music in Opera Performance from the Boston Conservatory, where she was the inaugural recipient of the Robert C. Volante Scholarship and graduated summa cum laude. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music and a Bachelor of Science in Strategic Communication from Texas Christian University, where she was awarded the prestigious Chancellor Scholar Award and graduated summa cum laude.
Iryna Photography
TO LEARN AND INSPIRE LOVE.
I believe that at our core, we all want to be fully seen and fully loved. Fostering compassion lies at the heart of my artistic purpose; it is the seed from which understanding, unity, and authentic love stem. In my personal life as well as my artistic life, I seek to brighten the dim spaces by bringing joy, hope, and a greater understanding of the human experience. Through each performance, I hope to inspire audiences to discover, ponder, and appreciate the complexity and beauty of their inner selves and the world around them. The arts open a window of perspective to us that allows us to engage with humanity in a new way. The stories we hear teach us to better walk with our neighbors. They encourage us to go deeper, to get vulnerable, to recognize that there is more than what meets the eye, and to strive for connection. It is through this communion that we will have the freedom to delight in the beauty within and around us. Through my art form, I am continuously learning to better love others whose journeys vary from my own. Delving into each character's worldview teaches me something new and surprising. I hope that sharing their stories opens hearts and minds to new concepts and relationships.