Italian and Galician-American mezzo soprano Arianna Paz Ritaccio is a young singing actress praised for her “warmth of timber and accomplishments as a comedienne” (Boston Musical Intelligencer) and her “all-encompassing” interpretation of song (New England Gilbert & Sullivan Society), with repertoire spanning opera, art song, musical theatre, and world premiere new works.
Upcoming in the 2025-26 season: Arianna relocates to Cambridge, MA to begin her term as the Signet Artist in Residence at her alma mater, Harvard University. While at Harvard, she will originate the role of Inez Serrano in the world premiere of Ethan Chavez’s No Exit with Lowell House Opera. This summer, she is delighted to travel to San Diego, CA to be a Studio Artist with Opera NEO, where she will be covering Strega/Marta in the US premiere of Louise Bertin’s Fausto, study covering Zaida in Rossini’s Il Turco in Italia, and singing in the A Night at the Museum concert of art song.
Recent stage highlights include her role debut as Rosina in Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia with Druid City Opera, as well as her two seasons as a Resident Young Artist with The Ohio Light Opera, where she sang and danced in their productions of The Sound of Music (Sister Margaretta), The Gondoliers (Vittoria/Duchess cover), Bitter Sweet (Harriet), The Arcadians (Lady Barclay), Me & My Girl, Tip Toes, Brigadoon, Carousel, The Count of Luxembourg, and Patience.
In concert, Arianna recently made her Alice Tully Hall debut as the Alto I soloist in Berio’s Sinfonia with the Mannes Orchestra. An avid performer of new works, she’s also had the privilege to sing as a soloist in the world premieres of Randall Eng/Tracy K. Smith’s Harbor at Boston Symphony Hall with the Boston Pops, J.L. Marlor’s Saltwater Lung with the Mannes Orchestra, and William Cowie’s song cycle morphine. She made her debut in Italy in the Festival Internazionale di Mezza Estate with the Orchestra Sinfonica Abruzzese in Tagliacozzo, singing as “Rosina” in excerpts of Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia and as Maddalena in excerpts of Verdi’s Rigoletto. With Classic Lyric Arts, she sang in a series of concerts around the Emilia-Romagna region, performing in various scenes and arias from the Italian bel canto repertoire. In musical theatre, Arianna made her Feinstein’s/54 Below debut as a soloist in the “Harvard-Yale Cantata” concert, singing “Maria” in an excerpt from Bernstein’s West Side Story.
Other performance credits include Despina in Mozart’s Così fan tutte with both Opera NexGen and Lowell House Opera, Pane in Cavalli’s La Calisto with Mannes Opera, and Zerlina (cover) in Mozart’s Don Giovanni with Long Island Lyric Opera. Arianna holds a Bachelor of Arts in Cognitive Neuroscience from Harvard University, where had the tremendous honor of singing an aria for her class’ commencement speaker, Chancellor Angela Merkel, by invitation of the university. She later received her Masters in Music (Vocal Performance and Opera) from the Mannes School of Music. She is a proud alumna of Classic Lyric Arts.