Alyssa Brode is a versatile soprano who has brought to life such roles as the Fairy Godmother (Massenet’s Cendrillon), Musetta (La bohème), Laetitia (The Old Maid and the Thief) and Gretel (Hansel and Gretel). She has won over audiences with her interpretations of song, concert and musical theater repertoire in addition to her extensive opera credits spanning both US coasts. Her current artistic mission is to find the emotional core in all musical performance, whether by breathing new life into the standard repertoire or creating wholly new works… and though she has already marked the career milestones of performing an opera during a blackout and performing an opera while eating cupcakes, she aims someday to reach her all-time goal of performing while playing with cats.
Alyssa was ecstatic to make a post-pandemic return to the stage as Pierrette in the world premiere production of Girondines with Wilmington Concert Opera in October 2022. Just before 2020 and a hiatus that felt like forever, she appeared with Philadelphia-area companies Delaware Valley Opera Company (covering Frasquita in Bizet’s Carmen) and the newly-established Opera Fresca (First Novice in Suor Angelica). Alyssa fed her passion for premiering new music and reviving rare works in 2018: first starring in Arthur Penn’s forgotten operetta Rose of the Danube as the titular Rose, then originating the role of Clover in the world premiere of Theodore Christman’s A Metamorphosis, a portrayal for which she was praised for her “endearing charm” and “glittery tones and demeanor” (OperaWire).
In the musical theater realm, Alyssa most recently appeared in A Little Night Music by Stephen Sondheim, whose music she would happily perform until the end of time. Her previous seasons have included numerous productions with Pacific Opera Project in Los Angeles, in capacities as wide-ranging as singing and dancing in the ensemble of their 1950’s-themed L’elisir d’amore to singing and dancing as the Valencienne cover/grisette swing in their Old West-themed Merry Widow. Alyssa also established herself as a prominent fixture of LA-area companies Opera Animata (Amor in Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice, Gretel in Hansel and Gretel, Belinda cover in Dido and Aeneas) and Capitol Opera (Violetta in La traviata, Adina in L’elisir d’amore, Musetta in La bohème). She has recently made repeat appearances as a soloist in Bucks County Gilbert & Sullivan Society’s sing-along Messiah and is frequently featured with the Opera Project in Stockton, New Jersey, singing greatly varied repertoire in an intimate concert setting.
She holds degrees from California State University, Northridge (MM) and Westminster Choir College (BM) and is also a freelance graphic designer specializing in event programs/posters for operas and recitals. Alyssa is the proud creator of the first-ever collection of “Vocal Rest Apparel” which she sells along with other customizable music-themed designs and gifts in her online store “Musicisms.” Alyssa resides with her husband in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and, when not singing, can usually be found binge-watching some acclaimed TV series or traveling as much as she can.