Ivanna Valdespino is a Mexican-American lyric soprano born, raised, and based in Los Angeles, California. She began her start in music when she was living in Jalisco, México in 2016. She began singing in a church choir with her friends and later, joined a local community choir where they sang the works of renowned composers including Handel, Offenbach, Orff, and Verdi. She became interested in singing opera when she heard a recording of the famous soprano Maria Callas singing the aria “O mio babbino caro” from Giacomo Puccini's opera Gianni Schicchi. Not long after, she moved back to the United States where she began studying classical voice at Los Angeles City College under LA Opera Chorus member, Lori Stinson. She transferred to the University of California, Irvine, in Fall 2020, where she studied under the founder of the African American Art Song Alliance, Dr. Darryl Taylor. While at UCI, she sang the roles of Madame Goldentrill in Mozart’s The Impresario and Lauretta in Puccini's Gianni Schicchi. She was also named a winner of the UCI Concerto Competition in 2023. She was named a semi-finalist in the George Shirley Voice Competition in May 2024.

 

She made her professional operatic debut in the ensemble of Pacific Opera Project’s production of Antonio Cagnoni's opera Don Bucefalo in November 2024. In 2025, she sang in the ensembles of Independent Opera Company’s production of Strauss’s Daphne, and in Guild Opera Company's production of Bizet's Carmen. When she’s not singing or performing, she works as a teaching artist for the non-profit opera company Pacific Opera Project in their My First Opera and Cuentos Cantados classes, where she teaches opera education to elementary school students at Title I schools in the South Los Angeles area. In August of 2025, Ivanna made her film debut as a soprano chorus member in a film adaptation of composer Gordon Getty's opera Plump Jack, directed by Martin Guigui and based on a Shakespeare play. In March 2026, Ivanna sang in the chorus of Pacific Opera Project's production of Puccini's opera Turandot. Upcoming performances include singing in the chorus of Pacific Opera Projects' production of Zorro in May 2026. In June 2026, she will be singing in the world premiere of Kenneth Wells's opera The Center Cannot Hold: Part 3 - Beyond Recovery, based on the memoir of Elyn Saks, as the nurse and in the chorus. In July 2026, she will be making her musical theatre debut singing in the ensemble of Sarah Sturdevant's original musical The Seven Deadly Seas in collaboration with Pacific Opera Project. For more information on these productions, please visit the Calendar page.

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Ms. Valdespino is passionate about diversity in classical music, and she enjoys singing the works of underrepresented and marginalized composers in the classical voice canon. In May 2024, she presented a voice recital of art songs, arias, and spirituals by African-American and African diaspora composers to raise funds for travel and housing expenses related to her participation in the George Shirley Voice Competition. This recital included works by renowned composers such as Florence B. Price, Margaret Bonds, Undine Smith Moore, H. Leslie Adams, Robert Owens, and more. She is currently researching and putting together a recital of vocal works by female Latin-American composers as an homage to her culture and the incredible women in her life who raised her. She hopes to present this recital soon and share the love she has for Latin-American culture with everyone.