Sishel Claverie
Mexican Mezzo-soprano Sishel Claverie enjoys a versatile career in opera, musical theater, new music and multidisciplinary collaborations.
A champion of new operatic works, Ms. Claverie has been involved in a number of world premieres, including: the role of Renata in the alternate cast of HGO´s Mariachi-opera El Milagro del Recuerdo, and Carmelita in Ted Rosenthal’s jazz-opera Dear Erich, produced by the New York City Opera. This year, Sishel will create several roles, including: Gloria in the video-opera series Everything for Dawn by Experiments in Opera, the role of Fia in Pietá by Jake Landau, and the Cheshire Cat in the new comedic opera Alice, by Amu Scurria, produced by Music off Main. She will also workshop Jorge Sosa's latest work, the monodrama Generación Perdida, in collaboration with Aural Compass Projects.
Sishel is increasingly interested in multidisciplinary collaborations. During quarantine, she helped develop an online adaptation of Verdi’s Lady Macbeth (Lady M) alongside Heartbeat Opera, experimenting with video footage and electronic sound design. Later this year, she will be featured as Lola/Carmen in the upcoming short film Chinese Laundry, directed by Giorgio Arcelli.
Sishel has recently won several awards for her work directing videos for vocal competitions, like the Harold Haugh Light Opera Vocal Competition, and the Opera en Castellano Competition, among others.
As a recent recipient of the City Artist Corps Grant, she recently presented Forever IN Between, a multimedia concert of vocal chamber music and video design, exploring the immigrant experience, presented at The Tank Theater in NYC. She is currently producing her first theatrical recital titled Soleful, to be premiered in the fall of 2024.
Sishel has sung 37 roles to date and has been seen in recital in multiple cities across the United States. Recent engagements include the role of Maria in Piazzolla’s tango-opera Maria de Buenos Aires with Opera in the Heights, Charlotte Malcolm in Sondheim’s A Little Night Music with Alamo City Opera; the title role in Heartbeat Opera’s production of Carmen in NYC, which was praised by the New York Times as “Riveting”. She performed as the Baroness and covered the Old Lady in New York City Opera’s revival of Candide, directed by Hal Prince.
Ms. Claverie has been a resident artist at the Santa Fe Opera, Utah Opera, the Britten–Pears Young Artist Programme in Aldeburgh, Wolf Trap Opera, the Renata Scotto Opera Studio in Rome, and S.I.V.A.M., Mexico’s prestigious Young Artist Program.
An advocate of opera for the youth, Sishel has participated in more than ten productions specially tailored to children and teenagers, having sung nearly 500 performances.
Sishel holds a Bachelor's Degree in Music from the University of Houston and a Master's Degree in Music from Rice University. She currently resides in New York City with her husband Artie and their kitty, Stella.