Arizona Opera Cast Members & Creatives

Greek-American mezzo-soprano Daveda Karanas has been hailed for her “capacious power” and “a voice lustrous and exciting.” (San Francisco Chronicle)

In the 2015/16 season, Daveda Karanas will be seen as Lise in The Passenger at both Florida Grand Opera and Michigan Opera Theater following her successful role debut at the Lyric Opera of Chicago in the same role. Recently, she made a major role debut as Kundry in Parsifal at the Lyric Opera of Chicago under Andrew Davis. She then debuted at the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis as Mother Marie in Dialogues of the Carmelites and with the Auckland Philharmonia as Brangäne in concert performances of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde. 

Ms. Karanas made her German debut at Oper Frankfurt as Marfa in Khovanshchina and debuted at the Canadian Opera Company as Brangäne in Tristan und Isolde conducted by Johannes Debus and directed by Peter Sellars. She also joined the roster of the Metropolitan Opera in their production of the Berlioz masterpiece Les Troyens covering the role of Cassandre in La prise de Troie. Ms. Karanas made an acclaimed European debut at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino as Judit in Duke Bluebeard’s Castle under Zsolt Hamar in the festival’s 75th Anniversary. She also covered the role of Judit in the same production at the Saito Kinen Festival in Japan and on tour in China under Seiji Ozawa. She was then seen at Opera Grand Rapids for her role debut as Azucena in Il trovatore. Ms. Karanas sang her first performances of Amneris in Aida at Arizona Opera, followed by Vancouver Opera, Glimmerglass Festival in a new production by Francesca Zambello, and covered the role at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. 

The summer of 2011 saw Ms. Karanas in her first complete Ring Cycle at San Francisco Opera under Donald Runnicles. In Francesca Zambello’s staging, she sang both Waltraute and the 2nd Norn in the new production of Götterdämmerung and Waltraute in Die Walküre. Ms. Karanas also sang Suzuki in Madama Butterfly and covered Amneris in Aida, both under Nicola Luisotti at the San Francisco Opera. In recent seasons, Ms. Karanas sang performances of Waltraute and covered Fricka in San Francisco Opera’s Die Walküre conducted by Donald Runnicles. She also covered Brangäne in Tristan und Isolde with Seattle Opera. With the Arizona Opera, she performed in “A Concert of Signature Arias” along with Christine Brewer, Richard Margison, and Gordon Hawkins featuring arias and duets from Don Carlo, Macbeth, and Norma. She concluded her San Francisco Opera Center Adler Fellowship in performances of the Mistress of Novices in Suor Angelica with Patrick Summers conducting, as well as covering Azucena in Il trovatore with new music director Nicola Luisotti.

As an Adler Fellow at the San Francisco Opera, Ms. Karanas has performed in scenes as Amneris in Aida and Brangäne in Tristan und Isolde, as well as covering the role of Fricka in Das Rheingold conducted by Donald Runnicles. She made her San Francisco Opera debut as Mamka in Boris Godunov as a first year Adler Fellow. 

Prior to her residency at San Francisco Opera, she made debuts with the Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by James Levine in Schönberg’s Moses und Aron as Vierte nackte Jungfrau and the Chicago Opera Theater as Ericlea in Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria conducted by Jane Glover. She also performed the role of Tisbe in La Cenerentola with the Merola Opera Program, conducted by Martin Katz.

Ms. Karanas holds a Master of Music degree from Arizona State University. While earning her degree, she performed such roles as Judith in Bluebeard’s Castle, Mère Marie in Dialogues des Carmélites, and the Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors. She was also a member of the Boston University Opera Institute where she performed the role of Zia Principessa in Suor Angelica and the Lady with a Hat Box in Postcard from Morocco.

Daveda Karanas is a winner of the 2008 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. She has also received an encouragement award from the George London Foundation in 2009. She was an international semi-finalist in the 2007 Neue Stimmen Competition, a recipient of the 2006 Encouragement Award at the Marilyn Horne Foundation Competition, and grand prizewinner of the 2005 Arizona Opera League Competition.