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 also won over audiences with her interpretations of song, concert and musical theater repertoire in addition to her extensive opera credits spanning both US coasts.
In 2019 Alyssa made several role and company debuts: first with Delaware Valley Opera Company, serving as Frasquita cover in Bizet’s Carmen, then with the newly-established Opera Fresca as the First Novice in Suor Angelica. Meanwhile, she has continued to make regular appearances with the Opera Project in Stockton, New Jersey, performing wide-ranging arias and art song repertoire in an intimate concert setting.
Her 2018 season featured several rare and new works in addition to the standard repertoire. In the fall, Alyssa originated 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 June, Capitol Opera Harrisburg revived Arthur Penn’s forgotten operetta Rose of the Danube, starring Alyssa as the titular Rose. That spring Alyssa joined ActorsNET of Bucks County as Mrs. Nordstrom for their run of A Little Night Music. Alyssa’s 2018 season closed just as her 2017 season did: as a soloist in Bucks County Gilbert & Sullivan Society’s sing-along Messiah concert.
Alyssa began her 2017 season with back-to-back productions of Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore, appearing as Adina in a concert version with Capitol Opera in Orange County, California, as well as singing and dancing in Pacific Opera Project’s 1950s-themed production of the same opera. She joined Capitol Opera again in July 2017 to portray Musetta in Puccini’s beloved La bohème.
Other recent seasons included numerous appearances with both Pacific Opera Project (most notably as Valencienne cover/grisette swing in their 2016 Old West-themed production of The Merry Widow) and Opera Animata (Amor in Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice, Gretel in Hansel and Gretel, Belinda cover in Dido and Aeneas). In 2015 and 2016, Alyssa also joined the LA-based Independent Opera Company for several rare works and performed roles with Los Angeles Metropolitan Opera, Opera Pasadena and Capitol Opera SoCal, the latter for a concert of Mozart arias in 2015 and then returning in 2016 for her role debut as Violetta in La Traviata.
Alyssa received her Master of Music in voice from California State University, Northridge and her Bachelor of Music from Westminster Choir College where, as a member of the renowned Westminster Symphonic Choir, she had the privilege of performing symphonic masterworks with some of the world’s most prominent conductors (Pierre Boulez, Kurt Masur, Lorin Maazel) and orchestras (New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Staatskapelle Berlin). She is also a recipient of numerous awards and scholarships including the Robert Barbera Scholarship in Voice, the Village Voices Scholarship and the Rachel Ketchie Memorial Award. She earned 3rd Place in the 2016 women’s division of the American Prize in Opera and is a member of the Pi Kappa Lambda music honor society.
When she’s not singing, Alyssa works as a graphic designer specializing in posters and event programs for operas and recitals. A merging of her passions for music and design, Alyssa also maintains the online store “Musicisms,” featuring designs geared primarily toward fellow musicians including the first-ever collection of “Vocal Rest Apparel.” Alyssa resides with her husband in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.