OPERAtion: How, What, Why? A miniseries of the Podcast: OPERAtion What’s my Why? In these shorter episodes we strive to give voice to innovative artists, creators,  and organisations by sharing our platform. By doing so, we hope to offer insight in the way people in the opera industry are striving to create art that is not only relevant, but resonant with the experiences of humanity today. We are so excited to share with you all of the exciting work being done to create new opportunities for diverse artists to share their craft with the world. 

In this first episode Simon speaks to Aliana de la Guardia, Artistic Director of Guerilla Opera. A voracious interpreter of repertoire old and new, de la Guardia is an accomplished Cuban-American artist that enjoys a multifaceted career as a classical vocalist, actor, educator, and entrepreneur. As a soprano specializing in new music and opera, she has garnered acclaim for her “dazzling flights of virtuosity” (Gramophone) in “vocally fearless” performances that are “fizzing with theatrical commitment” (The Boston Globe). Specializing in new music and garnering skills as a theater artist make her especially fit for premiering new operas as well as genre-bending performance art, devised and ensemble-based works, intimate live performances, as well as film and digital mediums. She has guest starred on ABC’s television series “Body of Proof.”

In 2020, she was selected as a protégée for OPERA America’s Women’s Opera Network Mentorship Program for Women in Opera, paired with Lee Anne Myslewski, Vice President of Opera and Classical Programming, Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts in Vienna, VA. This same year she was the recipient of a Public Art Learning Fund grant from the New England Foundation for the Arts to pursue a custom-tailored mentorship program with Double Edge Theatre of Ashfield, MA.

de la Guardia is also the founder and owner of Dirty Paloma Voice Studio in Haverhill, MA, the treasurer of the Granite State chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, and on the Haverhill Multicultural Festival 2020 planning committee.

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