LARISA
MARTINEZ
Soprano
BIOGRAPHY
Puerto Rican opera singer Larisa Martínez is praised and sought after for her “smoky soprano” (Opera News), gracing top stages and collaborating with household names of today.
Larisa has made orchestra appearances with Philadelphia Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, New Jersey Symphony, and Indianapolis Symphony. In 2019, she made both her Kennedy Center recital debut and Carnegie Hall debut, singing Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with the Athens Philharmonic. Internationally, Larisa recently performed as soloist with the Sao Paulo Symphony Orchestra, and made her debuts at Athens’ Herodeon Theater and Korea’s KSPO Dome. In April 2025, she premiered a new work written for her and violinist Joshua Bell by Academy Award-winning composer John Corigliano.
Larisa’s operatic roles include Musetta in La Bohème (CulturArte), Violetta in La Traviata, conducted by Eugene Kohn (Wichita Grand Opera), Sophie alongside tenor Piotr Beczala in Werther (Culturarte), and Maria in West Side Story conducted by Lawrence Foster with tenor Michael Fabiano (Festival Napa Valley).
In 2016, she created the role of Isaura in the world premiere of Mercadante’s Francesca da Rimini in Italy, conducted by Maestro Fabio Luisi and directed by Pier Luigi Pizzi. That same year, Larisa was invited as part of President Barack Obama’s artistic delegation to Cuba, in an effort to expand cultural collaboration and friendships between the two countries, culminating in the Emmy®-nominated PBS special, Live from Lincoln Center: Seasons of Cuba where she was showcased.
Larisa is a longtime touring partner of acclaimed tenor Andrea Bocelli, performing for packed houses including Hollywood Bowl and Madison Square Garden. Her “Voice and the Violin” program, created with Grammy Award-winning violinist Joshua Bell, has visited the Ravinia Festival, Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Verbier Festival, Pacific Symphony, and Colorado Symphony.
In 2016, Larisa won the Metropolitan Opera’s National Council Audition in Puerto Rico, as well as the Angel Ramos Foundation Award and the Audience Prize. Soon after, she was invited by the Metropolitan Opera Guild 2018 Annual Gala as a guest artist to honor Anna Netrebko. In 2018, EastWest Sounds Studios chose and sampled her voice for its new virtual instrument software, “Voices of Opera,” used by composers and engineers worldwide.
In addition to studying Vocal Performance at the Music Conservatory in San Juan, Larisa simultaneously received her Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Sciences with high honors from the University of Puerto Rico. She went on to receive a Master's degree from Mannes the New School of Music in New York City.
Larisa is passionate about representing her Boricua cultural heritage through her art.
