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LISA MARIE ROGALI
MEZZO-SOPRANO
BIOGRAPHY
Award-winning American mezzo-soprano Lisa Marie Rogali has been praised for her “warm, nuanced voice” and “spontaneity” on the stage. Her powerful stage presence and vocal versatility showcase her as an artist who excels across a variety of genres, including opera, musical theatre, and concert music.
This season, Ms. Rogali returns to Virginia Opera to make her role debut as Angelina in La Cenerentola. She brings her magnetic Carmen to both Toledo Opera and Gulfshore Opera and returns to Detroit Opera as the Offred Double in The Handmaid’s Tale. On the concert stage, Ms. Rogali is pleased to join Asheville Symphony for Mozart’s Requiem and Virginia Symphony Orchestra for Handel’s Messiah.
In the 2024-25 season, Ms. Rogali made her début as the title role of Carmen with both Virginia Opera and Florentine Opera, a portrayal hailed by the Virginian Pilot as, “not to be missed, a bang-up performance.” As part of Sarasota Opera’s Winter Festival, she reprised her charming Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia, garnering high praise from Opera with Opera News who called her, “a Rossini star in the making.” She returned to the South Florida Symphony as the alto soloist in their annual Messiah, in addition to singing Paquette in their semi-staged concert production of Candide. She concluded the season by bringing her celebrated Rosina to Central City Opera.
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During the 2023-24 season, Ms. Rogali joined the Detroit Opera’s Resident Artist Program, singing the roles of Kate Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly and the Dog/Woodpecker in The Cunning Little Vixen. She also made her role debut as Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia with North Carolina Opera and performed Der Trommler in Ullman’s Der Kaiser von Atlantis with Detroit Chamber Winds & Strings. Ms. Rogali was named a Finalist in the Dallas Opera National Vocal Competition and was awarded the Jonathan Pell People’s Choice Award. On the concert stage, she made her Carnegie Hall Debut as the alto soloist in Mozart’s “Coronation Mass” with MidAmerica Productions. That summer, she performed the title role in The Rose Elf by David Herzberg with OrpheusPDX.
Ms. Rogali began her 2022-23 season by debuting the roles of Princess/Lucy/Fancy Doll #1 in the World Premiere of Edward Tulane with Minnesota Opera. That spring, she performed Hansel in Opera Birmingham’s production of Hansel & Gretel. On the concert stage, she was featured as the alto soloist in Handel’s Messiah with the Naples Philharmonic, as well as Mozart’s Requiem with The Masterwork Chorus. That summer, she returned to The Glimmerglass Festival to sing Stéphano in Roméo et Juliette and Paquette in Candide. Opera News singled her out as a “live-wire mezzo [who] aced Stéphano’s tricky chanson.” Throughout the season, Ms. Rogali received prestigious accolades including 3rd Place in the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition (Eastern Region), 2nd Place in the Opera at Florham Competition, 4th Place in the Giulio Gari International Vocal Competition, the Munday Encouragement Grant in the Jensen Foundation Vocal Competition, 3rd Prize in the Pasadena Vocal Competition, among others.
As a multifaceted artist, Ms. Rogali's versatility extends into the world of musical theatre, where she has performed and covered leading roles such as Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady, Louise in Gypsy, and Maria in The Sound of Music. In the crossover competition circuit, she has placed 2nd in the American Traditions Vocal Competition and received a special award from the Lotte Lenya Competition.
Ms. Rogali has participated in several esteemed young artists programs including Detroit Opera, Minnesota Opera, The Glimmerglass Festival, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and Opera Saratoga. She is a graduate of The University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music (M.M. Vocal Performance) and The Pennsylvania State University (B.M.E. in Music Education).
Current as of August 4, 2025
CRITICAL ACCLAIM
Carmen - "Obviously, Carmen demands a great Carmen, and Gulfshore Opera has found a winner with the mezzo-soprano Lisa Marie Rogali. She inhabited the role with a vibrant physicality combined with a strong, warm voice at both the top and bottom of the range. She communicated the complexities of Carmen’s character—her scheming, sometimes joyful, occasionally violent, and, yes, sensual personality—with a deft mixture of voice, gesture, and movement, making it believable that Don José could literally lose his mind over her"
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“Rogali is perhaps the best Carmen I have heard and seen…” - Toledo Blade
Carmen - “Rogali’s mere appearance on the stage was a jolt, not merely a burst, of fresh air. She owned the stage as any good Carmen should, but she didn’t ham it up. A touch. A smile. A mere brush against an ogling male. Her mellow mezzo dripped with disdain, desire, and dread while accepting the fate she knew was coming.”
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"...a Rossini star in the making..." – Opera with Opera News
Il barbiere di Siviglia – "The mezzo Lisa Marie Rogali, in her house debut, is a Rossini star in the making. As Rosina, whose liberation from being cooped up in Dr Bartolo's house is the point of Il barbiere, her rendition of 'Una voce poco fa was magnificent. Lovely in a lavender gown, she completely inhabited the cavatina, dashing off Rosina's florid account of herself with octave-leaping vocalism, lively dance steps and a witty air of mischief. There was great chemistry between her Rosina and the barber Figaro, sung by Filippo Fontana, who brought bravura showmanship to 'Largo al factotum'."
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"[Rogali is] the essence of sultry, supple sex appeal..." – The Virginian-Pilot
Carmen – "Sultry mezzo-soprano Lisa Marie Rogali [delivers] a not-to-be-missed, bang-up performance...intensely aware of her body: she’s the essence of sultry, supple sex appeal, especially when she lounges on a table or seductively dances to castanets."
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"[Rogali's] acting was full of youthful élan." – Bachtrack
Romeo et Juliette – “Among the singers getting just a few minutes before the public, mezzo Lisa Marie Rogali made a strong impression in the trouser role of Stéphano, Roméo’s page, delivering her third act 'Que fais-tu, blanche tourterelle?' with gusto and mellifluous phrasing, while her acting was full of youthful élan.”
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"...lush mezzo tones..." – Opera with Opera News
Candide – “Lisa Marie Rogali’s sexy good looks and lush mezzo tones made her a center of attention when the glamorous Paquette was on stage.”
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"...ready-for-anything character actor instincts..." – StarTribune
Edward Tulane – “Among those he encounters along the way, standouts include Lisa Marie Rogali, whose vivacious coloratura and ready-for-anything character actor instincts are used to great effect as a princess in a nightmarish bedtime story and a joyously scavenging dog.”
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"...amazing physical range from ingénue to comedienne..." – Triangle Sings
Il barbiere di Siviglia – “Lisa Marie Rogali was a breathtaking Rosina. She sang with a grace and lyricism that was matched only by her amazing physical range from ingénue to comedienne."
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"...superb vocal agility..." – Opera with Opera News
The Rose Elf – "Mezzo soprano Lisa Marie Rogali wonderfully evoked the otherworldly nature of the Elf with her superb vocal agility and with periodic twitchy gestures. She radiated warmth when the Elf was in its happy place, nestled within the petals of the rose blossom."
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"...a true mezzo sound..." – Voce Di Meche
Gala Performance – “Mezzo-soprano Lisa Rogali has a true mezzo sound that was just right for Rosina's aria "Una voce poco fa" from Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia. We heard some more than usually interesting embellishments of the vocal line, all successfully negotiated.”
REPRESENTATIVES
General