Stephanie Sanchez has been praised by Opera News for her “polished, Italianate mezzo” and by ReviewSTL for her “exquisite singing.” The mezzo-soprano’s engagements in the 2021-2022 season included performances as Third Lady in The Magic Flute with Opera Theatre of St. Louis; the Mother in Mark-Anthony Turnage and Rory Mullarkey’s Coraline with West Edge Opera; and singing the role of Mercedes and covering the title role in Carmen at Opera San José. In the 2022-2023 season, Sanchez returns to Opera Southwest for performances of Zorro as Carlotta, and Intermountain Opera as Maddalena in Rigoletto.

At the 2021 Glimmerglass Festival, Ms. Sanchez sang the role of Ines and covered Azucena in Francesca Zambello’s 90-minute adaptation of Il Trovatore and was a featured artist in an all-Wagner concert conducted by Maestro Joseph Colaneri.  That same fall, she joined the roster of the Lyric Opera of Chicago where she covered Second Lady in Barrie Kosky’s acclaimed production of Die Zaüberflote and made her house debut with Austin Opera in a solo recital highlighting works by Mexican and LatinX composers.

Sanchez has been the recipient of several prizes, recently taking home the “Audience Choice Award” at the 2021 Jensen Foundation competition. She was the recipient of the 2018 Igor Gorin Memorial Award, took first place in the Young Texas Artist Music Competition and second place in Opera Connecticut’s Opera Idol Competition, was a finalist in the Brava Opera Theater Competition, and has received grants from the Anna Sosenko Assist Trust and the Hispanic Scholarship Association.

As a resident principal artist with Opera San José, she performed the roles of Prince Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus, Hansel in Hansel and Gretel, Azucena in Il Trovatore, and was set to perform Dritte Dame in Die Zauberflöte before the pandemic shutdown. She was selected as a Marion Pullin Studio Artist with Arizona Opera where she sang the roles of Persephone in Hercules vs. Vampires, Paquette in Candide, Berta in Il barbiere di Siviglia, and Flosshilde in Das Rheingold, and returned to the company to cover the title role in Maria de Buenos Aires and sing Baroness Nica in Charlie Parker’s Yardbird.  Other notable engagements include Gertrude in Hansel and Gretel with Brava Opera Theater, Olga in Eugene Onegin with Intermountain Opera, Flora in La Traviata with St. Petersburg Opera, Roggiero in Tancredi at Teatro Nuovo, Yesi in Stomping Grounds at The Glimmerglass Festival, Isabella (cover) in L’italiana in Algeri and Mère Marie (cover) in Dialogues des Carmelites at Sarasota Opera, Zita in Gianni Schicchi at Opera Maine, and Abuela in En mis palabras at Atlanta Opera.

During the fall of 2020, Sanchez returned to Opera Theatre Saint Louis as a Digital Studio Artist, where she was cited for her “impressive combination of vocal power and comic flair” (KDHX) in the role of Ruth in Pirates of Penzance and for her “moving” and “heartfelt” (KDHX) solos in their holiday concert.

Born and raised in Las Cruces, New Mexico, Sanchez received her Artist Diploma from the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University in 2017.  She earned her master’s degree in vocal performance from New Mexico State University in 2012.