About Alicia
Soprano Alicia Gianni, whose performances have been described as “charming, impressive” and “powerfully real” – is originally from Whidbey Island, WA. She is an alumna of the Houston Grand Opera Studio, and relocated to Houston after winning respectively both 2nd Place and Audience Choice in the 2006 Eleanor McCollum Competition. She opened the 2007-08 season with HGO’s production of David Hockney’s Die Zauberflöte where she portrayed an “aurally wonderful evil hag who turns into a lively Papagena,” (Houston Chronicle) followed by her performances as Musetta in La Bohème. The 2006-07 season included Gianni’s debut with HGO as Gretel in Hansel and Gretel, followed by her appearance as the Rooster/Jay in The Cunning Little Vixen led by Maestro Patrick Summers. She also made her debut with the Houston Symphony Orchestra where she was featured in a New Year’s Eve performance under the baton of Maestro Randall Craig Fleischer, and was later invited back to sing Dr. Seuss’ Green Eggs and Ham for the symphony’s Children’s Series. She made her debut with Wolf Trap Opera as Despina in Cosi fan tutte, and both Fortuna/Giunone in Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria. In the same summer she performed a recital with Juilliard Faculty pianist/coach, Steven Blier in Pursuit of Love. Gianni returned to HGO for the world premiere of Previn’s The Brief Encounter in 2009, playing the role of Beryl, and covering Laura Jesson.
Gianni earned her Bachelor’s in Music degree at the University of Washington and her Artist Diploma at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM). Some operatic roles include Micaëla in Carmen, Mařenka in The Bartered Bride, Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi , Elisetta in Il Matrimonio Segreto, Infantin in Zemlinsky’s Der Zwerg, Ms. Poe in Argento’s The Voyage of Edgar Allan Poe, and Mimì in La Bohème. In her performance as Fiordiligi with Maestro Mischa Santora, she was hailed as “a standout….delivering Come scolgio with convincing defiance, “ and “traversed a range of emotions with impressive coloratura.” (Cincinnati Enquirer) Gianni performed the title role in Puccini’s Suor Angelica in concert at a festival in Torre del Lago, Italy. While a member of Florida Grand Opera’s Young Artist Program, she made her debut as the Countess Ceprano in Rigoletto. Her concert work includes the Brahms Requiem, Mozart’s C Minor Mass with the Hickory, NC Choral Society and Orchestra, and the Mozart Requiem with the Palm Beach Symphony Orchestra. She has also performed with the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra and the Florida West Coast Symphony. Gianni won first place in the Advanced Division of the Seattle District NATS competition in 2003, was a regional finalist in the Metropolitan National Council Auditions in both 2006 and 2007. She received first and third place in CCM’s annual Corbett Scholarship Competition in 2004 and 2005, and was a Sara Tucker Grant nominee in 2007 and 2011.