Laura Santamaria (She/her) is a dedicated soprano currently pursuing a master’s degree in opera performance at the esteemed Boston Conservatory at Berklee under the tutelage of Dr. Rebecca Folsom. In an upcoming double-bill of Riders to the Sea (Ralph Vaughn Williams) and Whaling Women (Jodi Goble) at Boston Conservatory, Laura will be singing the roles of Cathleen and Eliza Spencer Brock. In April, she will be singing the role of Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte at Boston Conservatory. She recently graduated with a bachelor's degree in voice performance with an emphasis in opera and a minor in creative entrepreneurship from Boston Conservatory at Berklee. Recognized for her exceptional talent and dedication, she was honored with the Presidential Scholar of Music scholarship and studied under the guidance of Patty Thom.
She has participated at the Seagle Festival where she excelled in the lead role of Young Juana in With Blood, With Ink, and also contributed her talents to the ensembles of Roméo et Juliette and Fiddler on the Roof. She returned to the Seagle Festival to sing as the title role of Lucinda y las Flores de la Nochebuena for over 1,400 students in the Lake George area. Laura is currently participating in Opera Theatre of St. Louis's "Opera on the Go" program of Pirates of Penzance, where she is singing the role of Mabel for over 20 schools.
Laura was the Florida District Award Winner for the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition this past year and will be competing again this year in the Boston District on December 14th. She also received the Richard Gaddes Career Award from Opera Theatre of St. Louis this summer. She has been a Shirley Rabb Winston Scholarship Recipient for the past two years and was a finalist in the Schmidt Undergraduate Competition in 2023.
She was the Founder and President of the Latinx Student Alliance where she actively served as a student ambassador for the conservatory, advocating for diversity and inclusion within the performing arts. She is very passionate about her Colombian heritage and loves curating Latin-American recitals showcasing songs of Latin composers. Her dream is to one day be able to create a scholarship for students of Latin-American descent to pursue higher education, providing them with financial support and opportunities to achieve their academic and career goals, regardless of their socioeconomic background.
Laura will be singing at Opera Theatre of St. Louis this summer as a second-year Gerdine Young Artist where she will sing the role of Peaseblossom in A Midsummer Night's Dream and cover the role of Norina in Don Pasquale. The year before, she covered the roles of Musetta in La bohème by Puccini, Berta/A Notary in The Barber of Seville by Rossini, and sang in the ensembles of Julius Caesar and La bohème.