The Los Angeles Times hailed soprano Ariel Pisturino as “an impressive young discovery,” after seeing her professional debut performance as Nancy T’ang in Long Beach Opera’s production of Nixon in China. An enthusiastic advocate of contemporary works and collaborations with composers, Ariel performed the role of Lover in The Industry’s nationally acclaimed production of HOPSCOTCH and created the role of Laurie in Mark Abel’s premiere opera Home is a Harbor, released on Delos Records. She collaborated with Abel once before on his song cycle Five Rilke Songs on the album “Terrain of the Heart”, also for Delos Records. Ariel created the role of Rosina Brandram in a newly written Gilbert and Sullivan review, Hail Poetry, with Opera a la Carte. She premiered a new song cycle, Dewdrops, for soprano and electric guitar, written by longtime friend Alex Miller. Most recently, she made her Kennedy Center debut in Three Paderewski’s by Jenni Brandon.

Propelled by her interest in promoting new works, Ariel co-founded the performance troupe Chamber Opera Players of LA and the new music summer concert series unSUNg, focusing on new and unknown vocal music. Highlights of her work with Chamber Opera Singers of LA include her commission and premiere of the opera The Last Silent Voice by George N. Gianopoulos, and a performance of Ned Rorem’s Three Sisters who are not Sisters. Other contemporary performance highlights include her performances with Long Beach Opera as Witch 1 in Bloch’s Macbeth, the premiere of an electronic opera, The Master and Margarita by Russian composer Gamma Skupinsky, and the premiere of the oratorio Circular 14: The Apotheosis of Aristides by Neely Bruce in remembrance of Aristides de Sousa Mendes, who saved thousands during the Holocaust.

Ms. Pisturino not only performs new works but also lends her creamy legato to traditional roles such as Donna Elvira, Fiordiligi, Leonora, Micaëla, and Second Lady. She has also been heard as the soprano soloist in the Brahms Requiem, Cohen’s Alzheimer’s Stories, Fauré Requiem, Mendelssohn’s Lobgesang, Mozart’s Mass in C Minor and Requiem, and Rutter’s Gloria. She will sing Beethoven’s Mass in C in May 2020.

An avid language student, Ariel is a dedicated Italian student and attended the Russian Opera Workshop to study the Russian language and perform the role of Tamara in Rubenstein’s opera, The Demon.

Ariel holds a Master degree from the University of Southern California, Thornton School of Music, a Bachelor degree in Music from Northern Arizona University, and is an OperaWorks alumna. Born in San Francisco but a native of Kingman, Arizona, she now resides with her bass-baritone partner and two kitties in sunny Los Angeles.