Praised by Opera News for her "polished, Italinate mezzo,” Stephanie Sanchez is quickly creating a name for herself as an exciting young mezzo-soprano on the rise. Ms. Sanchez was most recently seen at 2022 Opera Theatre of Saint Louis Festival as Third Lady in a highly praised new production of The Magic Flute. In addition, Ms Sanchez sang the American premiere of Mark Anthony Turnage's opera, Coraline, at the West Edge Opera Festival to great acclaim. For the upcoming 22/23 season, Ms. Sanchez will be returning to Arizona Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Intermountain Opera Bozeman, along with making house debuts at Opera Southwest and Cincinnati Opera.
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Ms. Sanchez is a recipient of several awards including the "Audience Choice Award" from the 2021 Jensen Foundation, the sole recipient of the prestigious 2018 Igor Gorin Memorial Award, first place in the Young Texas Artist Music Competition, second place in Opera Connecticut’s Opera Idol Competition, a finalist in the Brava Opera Theater Competition, and has received grants from the Anna Sosenko Assist Trust and the Hispanic Scholarship Association. She was also recently seen with Opera San José for their 2019-2020 season as a resident principal artist where she sang the roles of Prince Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus, Hansel in Hansel and Gretel, Azucena in the student matinee of Il trovatore, and was set to perform Dritte Dame in Die Zauberflöte (postponed to a later season due to COVID-19.) In the 2017-2018 season, Ms. Sanchez joined Arizona Opera as a Marion Pullin Studio Artist. There she performed the roles of Persephone in Hercules vs. Vampires, Paquette in Candide, Berta in Il barbiere di Siviglia, and Flosshilde in Das Rheingold. The fall of 2018 marked Ms. Sanchez's return to Arizona Opera to cover Maria in Maria de Buenos Aires and sing Baroness Nica in Charlie Parker’s Yardbird. Ms. Sanchez was also a member of the Gerdine Young Artist and Gaddes Festival Artist programs at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis from 2014-2016. During the fall of of 2020, Ms. Sanchez returned to Opera Theatre Saint Louis where she was a Digital Studio Artist performing Ruth in Pirates of Penzance and a featured soloist in the highly praised Holiday Concert.
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, Ines and Azucena (cover) in Francesca Zambello's 90 minute adaption of Il trovatore at the Glimmerglass Festival, a featured soloist in an all Wagner concert conducted under the baton of Maestro Colaneri, also at the Glimmerglass Festival, Yesi in Stomping Grounds at The Glimmerglass Festival, Isabella (cover) in L’italiana in Algeri at Sarasota Opera, 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.
Ms. Sanchez completed her Artist Diploma from the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University in 2017. Sanchez was born and raised in Las Cruces, New Mexico and earned her master's degree in vocal performance from New Mexico State University in 2012.