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Lauded as “exquisite” in the SF Chronicle for her summer 2023 performance as Renata in Cruzar la Cara de la Luna, Peruvian-American mezzo soprano Kelly Guerra continues to light up stages as a versatile and passionate performer. Recent work includes Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia with the Princeton Festival, the title role in Astor Piazzolla’s María de Buenos Aires with Kentucky Opera,  Ruth Bader Ginsburg in Scalia/Ginsburg with Chautauqua Opera Company and the title role in Luisa Fernanda with Opera Williamsburg. Other notable past engagements include work with Opera Omaha, Los Angeles Philharmonic, California Symphony, Lucerne Festival, and a national tour with Esperanza Spalding for Wayne Shorter’s (Iphigenia).

Upcoming engagements include Carlotta in Zorro with Opera Santa Barbara and the alto soloist in Handel’s Messiah with the National Chorale at Lincoln Center. More to be announced.

Guerra won first place in Santa Barbara’s Performing Arts Scholarship Foundation competition  in 2018, prior to her residency as a Young Artist with the Opera Santa Barbara Chrisman studio,  where she prepared the roles of Suzuki (Madama Butterfly), Donna Rosa (ll Postino) and  Stéphano (Roméo et Juliette). Also in 2018, Kelly was a recipient of a travel grant to Germany  for language study from the Max Kade Foundation while completing her DMA at UC Santa  Barbara. There Guerra "created a sensation" (BravoCalifornia) singing the role of Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro. 

As a recitalist, Guerra has been featured at the Lucerne Festival, the Tanglewood Music Center,  and the Bard Music Festival. Guerra has performed as a soloist with several ensembles  including the Albany Symphony, Santa Barbara Symphony, Opera Hispánica, Garden State Philharmonic, The  Orchestra Now, Contemporaneous, Opera Parallèle and BluePrint. 

She holds a D.M.A from UC Santa Barbara, her master’s in music from the Bard College Conservatory, and her bachelor’s from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where she graduated with an award of Vocal Excellence.

A first-generation American and native of Southern California, Kelly champions Spanish language repertoire to welcome more diverse audiences into the concert hall.