Mezzo-soprano Aleks Romano, hailed as a "young artist to watch" by Opera News, is consistently praised for her "searing vocal delivery" and "stunning flexbility and rich tone." Ms. Romano was awarded First Prize in the 2016 Gerda Lissner Foundation Competition. She was a 2015 Sullivan Foundation Career Development Award winner and second place winner in the Southeast Region of the 2015-2016 Metropolitan National Council Auditions.
During the 2019-2020 season, Ms. Romano makes her Pittsburgh Opera debut as the title role in Bizet’s Carmen, her Palm Beach Opera debut as Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia, and joins the roster of the Metropolitan Opera, covering the role of Feklusha in Kat’a Kabanova. With the Las Vegas Philharmonic she will be heard as the alto soloist in Messiah, and she will also reprise the role of Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro with Maryland Lyric Opera.
The 2018-2019 season began with a trio of performances as Paquette in Candide with the Seoul Philharmonic, Utah Symphony, and the Israeli Philharmonic. She returned to two signature roles, as Carmen with North Carolina Opera, and Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Portland Opera and Chautauqua Opera, and debuted the role of Samira in Ghosts of Versailles with Chautauqua Opera.
After making her return during the summer to the Glimmerglass Festival as Aurelio in The Siege of Calais, Ms. Romano’s 2017-2018 season began with a debut with Madison Opera essaying the title role in Carmen, a role she also sang in concert with The Washington Chorus at the Kennedy Center. She also made her debut with Austin Opera singing the Komponist in Ariadne auf Naxos. The summer of 2018 included an acclaimed performance of the titular role in Rossini’s Tancredi rifatto, under the baton of Will Crutchfield, for the inaugural season of Teatro Nuovo.
The 2016-2017 season featured company debuts with Portland Opera and Piedmont Opera as Isabella in L’italiana in Algeri, a return to Washington National Opera as Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro, and another company debut with both Baltimore Concert Opera and Opera Delaware in the role of Arsace in Semiramide. She joined the roster of the Lyric Opera of Chicago to cover the role of Dulcinée in Don Quichotte. On the concert stage she appeared with the Kansas City Symphony for performances of the Mozart Requiem, and the Jacksonville Symphony for Handel’s Messiah.
In the 2015-2016 season, Ms. Romano returned to Washington National Opera as Mercedes in Carmen, Hansel in Hansel und Gretel, and covered the role of Wellgunde in Das Rheingold and Götterdämmerung. Additionally, she premiered the first act of Sheila Silver’s A Thousand Splendid Suns, as part of Opera America’s New Works Showcase and in workshop performances in Key West, FL.
During the 2014-2015 season, she joined the Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program, singing the Fox in The Little Prince, Sister Mathilde in Dialogues of the Carmelites, and Angelina (cover) in La cenerentola. In summer 2015, Ms. Romano returned to The Glimmerglass Festival to sing Second Lady in The Magic Flute, Dinah in Trouble in Tahiti (performed as a part of the Meet Me At The Pavilion series), and Marzia (cover) in Vivaldi’s Catone in Utica.
Previous seasons’ highlights include Angelina in La cenerentola (2014), Laura in Iolanta (2014), and Romeo in I Capuleti e i Montecchi (2013), all with Yale Opera; and Rosina in Il barbiere di Sivgilia at the Central City Opera family performance (2013).
A Mid-Atlantic Regional Finalist and Encouragement Award Winner in the 2014 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, Ms. Romano was also awarded the prestigious Phyllis Curtin Career Entry Prize from Yale School of Music. In summer 2014, Aleks covered Kate Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly and Sondra Finchley in An American Tragedy at The Glimmerglass Festival. Ms. Romano is also an alumna of the Wolf Trap Studio (2011, 2012).
A huge proponent of art song and concert repertoire, Ms. Romano has been seen in solo recital at Yale University and Bard College, and presented a joint recital at the National Opera Center with other Domingo-Cafritz young artists in the spring of 2015. Previous concert appearances include the Yale Philharmonia (Woolsey Concerto Competition Winner, 2014), Voices of Cooperstown, the Waterbury Symphony Orchestra, and the American Symphony Orchestra. She has received additional prizes from Opera Theater CT (First Place, Amici Vocal Competition, 2014), Yale University (Lotte Lenya Scholarship, 2013), the Bard College Concerto Competition (2009, 2010), the Classical Singer University Competition (national semifinalist, 2010), and the Presser Foundation (2009).