‘London took my heart, and the first time I put my foot on the stage at the Royal Opera House was like winning a prize!’ Soprano Yaritza Véliz still cannot quite believe how her career is blooming, as she is now returning to that stage to star as Mimì in La bohème in late January. When she tells me her story I realise it is not just a fairy tale of a talented young woman hitting the big time – her sheer guts and determination make it clear that she has striven every inch of the way to get to this point. But Véliz is naturally charming and tells her story with a lightness of touch. Arriving in London for the first time to join the Royal Opera House’s Jette Parker Artists Programme, she recalls the experience: ‘Even going to the supermarket I wanted to cry. All I had was Google Translate. But I tried and people were really open to helping me. Friends on the programme told me not to be shy, and that they would help, and my English coach Frances Weinreich was amazing too.’

Véliz had arrived in London from Coquimbo in northern Chile. Like many opera singers, her voice had stood out from the crowd as a youngster. ‘In the choir at school I felt my voice was different from the others, it was like an older voice and I was bullied a bit. So, when I was alone in the classroom I played with the sound.’ She was first encouraged by a tenor rehearsing for a local concert in church. ‘I asked if I could sing for him – at first, no! – but I sang and he said, “You are a miracle for someone so young!” And I went on to get a scholarship to the Amigos del Municipal de Santiago, (part of the National Opera in Chile). Belinda James sponsored me and every weekend I travelled six hours by bus to Santiago and back. I then went on to university to study music, which in Chile takes eight years, and I was really close to stopping. Was I wasting my time and money? My dad is a truck driver and my mum’s a kindergarten teacher, so they are not musicians. But I got auditions and won competitions and that really gave me trust in myself.’

Véliz as Violetta in La traviata at The Norwegian Opera in Oslo [Erik Berg]

But then came Véliz’s big break when she applied to the Jette Parker Artists Programme, which works to prepare gifted artists for the international stage.

‘I thought I’d try. I didn’t even speak English, so for the interview we tried to understand each other in a mix of Spanish and Italian.’ She rolls her eyes. ‘I thought, why on earth would they choose me!’ But choose her, they did. ‘A friend had to translate the email for me when I got the place. And now that was six years ago.’ Véliz’s second year remained unfinished due to the Covid-19 pandemic and she emerged to start her professional career. She is very aware of the importance of taking advice from experts. She mentions with gratitude Peter Katona, director of casting at the Royal Opera, and freelance casting specialist Pål Moe. Véliz is particularly careful about keeping her soprano healthy. ‘My voice is a little darker in the middle range. My teachers were lower voices – mezzo, contralto, baritone – but I was always a soprano.’ And she is aware of not taking on too much, too young. ‘I want to keep my voice in good shape. My dream role would be Suor Angelica, but not quite yet, it was offered and I was tempted but we said no. I don’t have the experience yet and I’m too emotional and would always cry as I sang.’ Véliz is admirably self-aware. ‘I am very conscious of my technique and about keeping the top of my voice healthy and light. When I sing Violetta [Traviata] it is close to bel canto, I keep the sound vertical, here’, she gestures to her forehead, ‘not broader, like singing Puccini. Traviata changes after Act 1, which is very high and more to the front. The hard parts of the job make it fascinating – I like a challenge!’ Sensibly, she has lighter bel canto roles coming up later this season, Giulietta in Bellini’s I Capuleti e i Montecchi for the Opéra national de Lorraine in Nancy, followed by Adina in L’elisir d’amore at Santa Fe.

In 2022 Véliz sang at the Aspen Festival, where she was the inaugural ‘Renée Fleming Artist’ and she gratefully heeds that diva’s wisdom. ‘The pandemic had finished and it was a good time to do the summer programme; I spent a lot of time with conductor Patrick Summers (especially working on Mimì) and Renée, and she gives very good advice about what to sing and where – be clever. She advised me to sing the slightly heavier roles on smaller stages at first’. Véliz is doing just that with her first Desdemona in Otello. In the same year she sang Mimì at Glyndebourne, to excellent reviews, and people immediately offered Suor Angelica. It must have been tempting, ‘but I talked about it with my agent, Oliver Clarke, and we knew I was not ready. It is the same with the Contessa in Figaro, which I have been offered, but I would rather sing Susanna first. I have already sung Zerlina in Don Giovanni and it is time to move on to Donna Elvira’ (which is already booked). More doors opened when she performed in Cruz’s El último sueño de Frida y Diego in San Francisco last year, consequently winning the Emerging Stars Competition there against a formidable field. Now debuts in major houses loom – Paris Opéra, the Bayerische Staatsoper, Dallas, Houston, Hamburg. Véliz is well on her way.

‘I want a long career – I want to be safe with my voice. But the most important part of my career is my family. I really thank them for the support they gave me. My granny might not understand it but she’s very proud!’ 

Yaritza Véliz sings Mimì in La bohème at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden from 29 January: www.roh.org.uk

This article originally appeared in the Spring 2024 issue of Opera Now. Join our community of opera lovers – subscribe to Opera Now today