Lyric-coloratura soprano Isabel Merat is pursuing her Bachelor's degree at Oberlin Conservatory studying with Mathilda Edge. Merat's recent engagements include two performances with Oberlin Opera performing the title role in Monteverdi's L'Orfeo, directed by Stephanie Havey and conducted by Maestro Christian Capocaccia. She also participated in Oberlin's annual Danenberg Honors Recital.  In the Fall of 2023, Isabel sang in a masterclass with Composer Jake Heggie, and performed in a concert of his art songs and arias. She also sang in a masterclass with Melissa Wegner, the Executive Director of the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program and Laffont Competition at The Metropolitan Opera. With Oberlin's Opera Scenes Program, Merat will portray the role of Anne in Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress and La Ciesca in Puccini's Gianni Schicchi. She will also sing the role of Lieschen in Bach's Schweigt stille, plaudert nicht, BWV 211, a project organized by Rebecca Landell Reed and Dr. Kyung-Eun Na. 

 

 In the Fall of 2024, Isabel will be continuing her music education by pursuing her Master's degree in Voice and Opera at New England Conservatory, studying with Jane Eaglen. 

 

In the summer of 2023, Isabel worked and lived for three weeks in Italy as an Emerging Artist at Bel Canto in Tuscany, where she performed fully-staged opera scenes portraying the roles of Donna Elvira in Mozart's Don Giovanni, Lucia in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, and Giulietta in Offenbach's Les Contes d'Hoffman, under the direction of Program Director and Conductor Giovanni Reggioli. 

 

In the Fall of 2022, Isabel made her Oberlin Opera debut as Fanchette in Offenbach's Le Mariage aux lanternes, directed by Jonathon Field and conducted by Maestro Joseph Mechavich. Previous roles with Oberlin's Opera Scenes program include Despina in Mozart’s Cosí fan Tutte, Papagena in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, Ilia in Mozart’s Idomeneo, and Clara in Jake Heggie’s It’s a Wonderful Life. Also with Oberlin's Opera Scenes program, Isabel performed in collaboration with Oberlin's Contemporary Music Ensemble as Grocer's Wife in GRAMMY-Winning Composer Stephen Hartke's world premiere of Rhino!, libretto written by David Schweitzer based on the play "Rhinocéros" by Eugène Ionesco. 

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Based in Queens, New York City, Isabel is proud of her Puerto Rican and Spanish ethnicity. In addition to her vocal studies, Isabel is the chair of Oberlin’s Latinx Music Union (LMU), "A cultural student organization that works to create space on campus to share Latinx culture through music." LMU had the honor of collaborating with Oberlin's Contemporary Music Ensemble by inviting Composer Roberto Sierra to Oberlin Conservatory for a Fall semester residency. LMU was also honored to bring 5x GRAMMY-Winning singer-songwriter Alex Cuba to Oberlin’s campus as a guest artist and most recently invited singer-songwriter Lisett Morales, La Mulata del Sabor, and her orchestra to Oberlin for a concert and jam session. Isabel brings Latinx musicians and music to Oberlin’s campus to increase awareness of the beauty and talent Latinx musicians and music offer in the industry. She also adds Spanish art songs to her recital programs. 

 

Aside from music, Isabel finds interest in writing and had the honor of interviewing composer and conductor Tania León for Opera Culture News and Magazine, an international opera news company based in New York City.