Praised by Opera News for singing with "palpable purity" and by LA Opus for her "large, lovely, and vibrant voice," Colombian-American soprano Oriana Falla has a blossoming career in the opera world.
In the upcoming 2024-2025 season, Oriana continues to be equally at home with standard repertoire and new operas. She begins the season with Opera in the Heights in the a role debut of Lucia di Lamermoor. She also joins Opera Southwest in February in the lead soprano role of Angela in the world premiere of Llantos 1492 by Adam del Monte.
Most recently, Oriana filmed a top-secret project for Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie’s soon to be released show on Peacock.
Passionate about helping others, she will sing a gala benefit concert in November with Fundacion Sanar in Pereira, Colombia, to raise money for children fighting cancer.
In the past 2023-2024 season, Oriana portrayed the role of Ana Maria in Zorro its west cost premier Opera Santa Barbara. Additionally, she performed a recital alongside Brian Holman for the Oracle Piano Society. Other engagements included the soprano soloist in Carmina Burana, a Zarzuela concert with Palm Springs Opera Guild, Fiesta Latina with Opera Las Vegas, back-up singer for Ely Guerra with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and a cover of Carla Lucero’s premiere of Chicanisima! Lastly, she performed the lead role of Luz in Las Autenticas by Ben Morris and the role of Eden in Galaxies by Mark Lanz Weiser with the Opera Buffs.
In the 2022-2023 season, Oriana joined Actor's Equity with her performance as Mrs. Anderssen in A Little Night Music at the Tony Award-winning Pasadena Playhouse. She also made her role debut as Adina in L'elisir d'amore, performing with Pacific Opera Project and Opera in the Heights. A review exclaimed, "What a voice, again rich and vibrant, with an effortless ability to scale Donizetti's complex bel canto." Additionally, her voice is featured on Adam del Monte’s album Transcendence Through Sound: Meditation for World Peace and recorded demos for Yuval Ron’s project, Four Medicinal Plants for Sleep: Uchosihi (Breathe).
Her previous engagements in the 2021-2022 season included the Concert for Peace, organized by the Washington Concert Society and a soprano soloist for Handel's Messiah. Additionally, Oriana had the privilege of recording for the soundtrack of Disney's film Encanto. She also participated in a recording and table read of Marian, an original musical inspired by the life of renowned contralto Marian Anderson.
In December 2020, Oriana captivated audiences as Mimi in Pacific Opera Project's drive-in performance of La Bohème. Opera News praised her performance for its "rare clarity" and her ability to delve into the emotional depths of the character, particularly highlighting the aria "Donde Lieta" as the most heart-wrenching moment of the show.
The year prior, she made role debuts as Violetta in La Traviata with New Rochelle Opera and as the Infanta in Der Zwerg with Numi Opera Theater.
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Oriana Falla pursued her education at UCLA, where she had the privilege of studying under the guidance of renowned baritone Vladimir Chernov. During her time at UCLA, she was the featured soprano soloist in Vaughan Williams' Dona Nobis Pacem at Royce Hall, performed Orff's Carmina Burana with the UCLA Philharmonia, and portrayed La Fée in Massenet's Cendrillon. In recognition of her talent, she was awarded the Opera Buffs' grant and had the opportunity to perform the role of Frasquita in Bizet's Carmen with the organization. Falla has also been a soloist with the Long Beach Camerata singers, where she performed Orff's Carmina Burana and Brahms' Ein Deutsches Requiem.
Presently, she continues to hone her craft under the tutelage of internationally acclaimed soprano Joyce El-Khoury.
Oriana is a member of AEA and is the co-founder of Opera Laguna.
“The principal roles of this production are filled with performers who are experts in their craft. It is sometimes rare in the Opera world to find singers with superior acting abilities. However, Opera in the Heights has cast some fantastic people. In the challenging title role of Lucia soprano, Oriana Falla does a masterful job. Falla left many speechless, mainly as her character deals with the tumultuous nature of being confined to a potentially loveless marriage and the perceived betrayal of her love from her family’s enemy, Edgardo. Falla was breathtaking, and her chemistry with both on- and off-stage partners was a sight. During the Act I duet with Edgardo, it was impossible not to feel the energy from Falla as she sang about her undying love. However, Falla shines the most in her Act 3 “mad scene,” where for 15 uninterrupted minutes, Falla is singing for the high heaves, and in the intimate space that is Lambert Hall, one can feel yourself vibrating with her energy. If anything is worth the price of a ticket, it is Falla’s phenomenal performance.”
“Falla was exquisite all evening, hypnotizing us with flawless intonation, diction, and emotional wallop. With Hollywood stage presence, she’s also quite a beauty. Even dressed in a hideous wedding costume of puffed white sleeves appended to her tartan skirt with a bejeweled cloche hat like a Roaring ‘20s flapper, she dazzled. For an opera singer, she’s the complete package, a star.”
“Her voice is large, lovely, and vibrant, and she sang her solo with moving conviction.”
“Ms. Falla was a smirking force with a rich voice.”
“The soloists the other day were excellent... Oriana Falla a vibrant soprano”
“Soprano Oriana Falla’s stunning red dress, didn’t distract from some extraordinarily spectacular vocalism... Falla scaled the insane heights of ‘Dulcissime’ with ease while supplying a meltingly lovely ‘In trutina.”
“What a voice, again rich and vibrant, with an effortless ability to scale Donizetti’s complex bel canto. She’s a veteran of Pacific Opera Project’s Elixir last season, and she, too, is destined to become a star. She’s a looker, too, in her A-line dresses and red-and-cream patent shoes, with hair pulled back in soft pony tail. She’d turn heads in any era. ”
Contact Me:
falla.oriana@gmail.com
(310) 956 - 0698