Soprano Daria Somers is a compelling singing actress, hailed for her “strong, glamorous stage presence and a rich, smooth soprano of undeniable power and control.” Last season she gave acclaimed turns as Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni and Mimì in La bohème with Pacific Opera Project, garnering praise for her “lovely vocal radiance” and “incredible range.” This season, she reprises the role of Micaëla in Carmen with New York City Opera in Bryant Park and is featured in the NYCO World Premiere of Iain Bell's Stonewall at Lincoln Center's Rose Theater.
In recent seasons, she portrayed Micaëla on a North American tour with New York City Opera, the title role in Madama Butterfly at the Redlands Bowl and in the Marina del Rey Summer Concert Series, Nedda in Pagliacci with the Marina del Rey Summer Symphony, Mimì in La bohème with the Orange County Symphony, Violetta in La traviata with Heartland Opera Theatre, the title role in Tosca with Pacific Opera Project, and the Mother in James Darrah’s staging of Händel’s L'allegro, il penseroso, ed il moderato as a guest artist at UCLA. Previous roles with Pacific Opera Project include La Contessa in Le nozze di Figaro, Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte, and Giunone in La Calisto. She has performed numerous outreach engagements with LA Opera and New York City Opera.
Ms. Somers made her operatic debut in 2006 with the title role in Suor Angelica. Other performances include the title role of Madama Butterfly with High Desert Opera, Montana Lyric Opera, and Nevada Opera Theatre, La Contessa in Le nozze di Figaro and Gilda in Rigoletto with Center Stage Opera, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni with Operafestival di Roma in Italy, and Gretel in Hansel and Gretel with Las Vegas’ Red Rock Opera.
Concert engagements have included Schoenberg’s arrangement of Mahler’s Songs of a Wayfarer with the Young Musicians Foundation Debut Orchestra at the L.A. County Museum of Art, Mimì in Act I of La bohème with the Valley Symphony Orchestra, and an exclusive recital for The Opera Associates of Los Angeles.
Ms. Somers has received an encouragement award from the Metropolitan National Council’s Los Angeles District Auditions, as well as the Young Musicians Foundation’s prestigious Swerdlow Family Scholarship in both 2007 and 2008. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Theater from the University of California, Los Angeles where she was in the inaugural class of the Ray Bolger Musical Theater Program. After graduation, she studied classical acting at the British American Drama Academy in Oxford, England and advanced Italian language and classical singing at Istituto Europeo in Florence, Italy.