Described as an “alluring smoky-toned mezzo” by The New York Times, and as “a force of nature” by the Houston Press, Mexican American Mezzo-soprano Sishel Claverie, enjoys a versatile career in opera, musical theater, new music and multidisciplinary collaborations.

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Recent performance highlights include her debut with

St. Pete Opera in the title role of Bizet’s Carmen. She has performed this iconic role on numerous occasions, most notably with El Paso Opera and Heartbeat Opera, where The New York Times praised her as a “riveting and smoldering Carmen.” Last spring, she created the role of Enid in the world premiere of Constance: A Confession with Experiments in Opera. This fall, she returns to Utah Opera as Toypurina in Zorro.

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As a stage and creative director, Claverie made her NYC debut last season with MACC Ensemble’s choral-theater production Seven Last Words, for which she also designed and performed live analog projections. She served as stage and creative director for The Santa Fe Opera Young Voices Scenes Showcase in both 2024 and 2025. Next spring, she will work as assistant director to Elizabeth Dinkova for Heartbeat Opera’s new adaptation of Rusalka. Sishel was also assistant director for Longy School of Music’s award-winning 2023 production of María de Buenos Aires and has led theater workshops at Butler University, The College of New Jersey, NJCU and The Santa Fe Opera Young Voices Program, among others. 

Other performance credits include Bernstein’s MASS with the National Symphony Orchestra, Renata in the mariachi-opera El Milagro del Recuerdo with San Diego Opera, and Olga in Heartbeat Opera’s daring adaptation of Eugene Onegin.

A champion of new opera, Claverie has participated in numerous world premieres, including the role of Renata in the alternate cast of Houston Grand Opera’s El Milagro del Recuerdo; Carmelita in Ted Rosenthal’s jazz opera Dear Erich with New York City Opera; and Gloria in the video-opera series Everything for Dawn by Experiments in Opera, among others. 

Claverie’s multidisciplinary work includes developing the role of Carmen/Lola in the short film Chinese Laundry, directed by Giorgio Arcelli of Fourth Wall Pictures. She also created and performed Forever IN Between, a multimedia vocal chamber music concert supported by a City Artist Corps grant. Additionally, she contributed to Heartbeat Opera’s online adaptation of Verdi’s Macbeth, Lady M, which explored innovative approaches to video and electronic sound design.

Claverie has participated in residencies and artist programs with The Santa Fe Opera, Utah Opera, the Britten–Pears Young Artist Programme in Aldeburgh, The Renata Scotto Opera Studio in Rome, and S.I.V.A.M., Mexico’s renowned young artist program.

A passionate advocate for opera education, Claverie has performed in more than ten productions created specifically for children and teenagers, giving nearly 800 performances.

Claverie holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of Houston and a Master of Music from Rice University. She lives in New York City with her husband, Artie, and their two adorable kitties.