Elizabeth Sywulka, soprano

Bolivian-American soprano Elizabeth Sywulka was born and raised in southern California, where she was part of a musical family and received early training in piano, music composition, and clarinet before choosing to pursue classical singing.  Highlights of her early ventures into classical music include advancing into the semifinals of the nationwide Classical Singer Magazine High School Vocal Competition and singing a prize-winning contemporary composition written by her brother Jonathan for Hollywood composer David Amram.

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After this, she attended Biola University, where she received a Great Books classical education from the Torrey Honors Institute while studying Vocal Performance and debuting as the title role in Suor Angelica, Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte, and Amy March in Mark Adamo’s Little Women. During this time, she won two consecutive Honorable Mentions in the Hal Leonard Undergraduate Art Song Competition (2014 & 2015) and received training from the Redwoods Opera Workshop, Crittenden Opera Studio, and OperaWorks Emerging Artist Program.

In 2015, Elizabeth moved to New York City to begin a master’s degree at Mannes College, The New School for Music, where she studied under Beth Roberts. While there, she won an Encouragement Grant from the 2016 Gerda Lissner Lieder/Art Song Competition, performed the role of Second Witch in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, and made her New York concert debut with Light Opera of New York, singing American musical theatre and operetta as well as zarzuela. This love of Spanish and South American culture culminated in a graduate recital at Mannes College featuring solely composers of this background, such as Villa-Lobos, Ginastera, Rodrigo, and Obradors. 

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In 2018, after finishing her studies in New York, Elizabeth joined Sarasota Opera for their Winter Opera Festival, appearing as an Apprentice Artist and performing scenes by Wagner, Verdi, and Donizetti. Since then, she has appeared as Marguerite in Gounod’s Faust with Repertory Opera Company, earning praise from the popular southern California arts blog Lauri’s List for her “full and lovely” voice as well as her “lyric musicality and pleasing control”. The same reviewer remarked on the production’s powerful conclusion, saying that “the rapturous finale — when [Marguerite] chose to reject temptation, give herself to God, and was carried to Heaven by angels — was enough to bring me to tears.”

In 2019, Elizabeth debuted with Pittsburgh Festival Opera, singing the role of La Ciesca in their July 2019 production of Gianni Schicchi, as well as covering Rossweisse in The Valkyrie and performing Mina in a workshopped scene from The Night Flight of Minerva’s Owl. After this, she began postgraduate studies at the Wales International Academy of Voice, where she seized the opportunity to study under famed Welsh tenor Dennis O’Neill. She completed this degree in 2021, also studying under Jane Samuel, Ryland Davies, and Linda Kitchen. After some time away from the stage post-pandemic, Elizabeth has re-commenced her frequent soloist appearances at First Presbyterian Church of Fullerton and is now studying with Adrienne Chandhok.