Lauded as “exquisite” in the SF Chronicle for her performance as Renata in Cruzar la Cara de la Luna, Peruvian-American mezzo-soprano Kelly Guerra continues to light up stages as a versatile and passionate performer. Recent work includes Carlotta in Hector Armienta’s Zorro with Opera Santa Barbara, Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia with the Princeton Festival and New Jersey Light Opera, the title role in Astor Piazzolla’s María de Buenos Aires with Kentucky Opera, Ruth Bader Ginsburg in Scalia/Ginsburg with Chautauqua Opera Company and the Princeton Festival and the title role in Luisa Fernanda with Opera Williamsburg.

Kelly’s 2024-25 engagements include Jo March in Adamo’s Little Women with Fort Worth Opera, the alto soloist in Handel’s Messiah with the Glacier Symphony, María in María de Buenos Aires with Madison Opera, Mrs. Fox inFantastic Mr. Fox with Opera Omaha, Isabella in L’Italiana in Algeri with Anchorage Opera and Opera in the Heights, Suzuki in Madama Butterfly at Opera on the James, and the title role in the world premiere of Dolores, an opera based on the life of Mexican activist Dolores Huerta, composed by Nicolás Lell Benavides with Marella Martin Koch, librettist.

A strikingly versatile performer, Kelly feels at home with many styles and eras of vocal music from Mozart to Héctor Lavoe. In 2022, she made her Los Angeles Philharmonic debut under the baton of John Adams in the Noon to Midnight Contemporary Festival, and premiered Katherine Balch’s orchestral song cycle Illuminate with the California Symphony. Kelly was lauded as “brilliant” by the Santa Barbara Independent for her performance as Lupita in the mariachi opera Cruzar la Cara de la Luna with Opera Santa Barbara in 2021. She toured in the cast of (...Iphigenia) by Wayne Shorter and Esperanza Spalding in the role of Iphigenia Unbound, which was noted as “beautifully sung” by the Washington Post.

Guerra won first place in Santa Barbara’s Performing Arts Scholarship Foundation competition in 2018, prior to her residency as a Young Artist with the Opera Santa Barbara Chrisman Studio. Kelly was a recipient of a travel grant to Germany for language study from the Max Kade Foundation while completing her DMA at UC Santa Barbara. There Guerra "created a sensation" by Bravo California as Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro.

As a recitalist, Guerra has been featured at the Lucerne Festival, the Tanglewood Music Center, Chautauqua Symphony Chamber Music, and the Bard Music Festival. Guerra has performed as a soloist with several ensembles including the Albany Symphony, Santa Barbara Symphony, Garden State Philharmonic, The Orchestra Now, Contemporaneous, Opera Parallèle and BluePrint.