Naomi Isabel Ruiz
In demand as an interpreter of Puccini, Naomi recently performed the beloved role of Cio-Cio-San in MADAMA BUTTERFLY with Tacoma Opera. Naomi enjoys performing many Puccini roles, and has been seen as Musetta in LA BOHÈME with Minnesota Opera, Mimì in LA BOHÈME with the Janiec Opera Company, a role she also covered with Opera Santa Barbara, Liù in TURANDOT, Magda in LA RONDINE, and Lauretta in GIANNI SCHICCHI with Des Moines Metro Opera.
A testament to her versatility, she performs roles ranging from Atalanta in XERXES, to Fiordiligi in COSÌ FAN TUTTE, Antonia in A WEDDING, Donna Elvira in DON GIOVANNI, and Marguerite in FAUST. Noteworth engagements include Barbara in CASANOVA’S HOMECOMING, Berta in THE BARBER OF SEVILLE, Inez in IL TROVORE, and Rosaura in the American premiere of JonathanDove’s THE ADVENTURES OF PINOCCHIO all with Minnesota Opera. Other note-worth engagements include concert and recital appearances with Toledo Opera, Michigan Opera Theatre, Mobile Opera, the Mozarteum, Bay Area Summer Opera Theatre, Verdi Opera Theatre of Michigan, and the Schubert Club. Naomi has been a member of various apprentice programs, including the Minnesota Opera Resident Artist Program, the James Collier Apprentice Artist Program at Des Moines Metro Opera, Brevard’s Janiec Opera Company, and the Opera Santa Barbara Studio Artist Program. A third prize winner in the Opera New Hampshire Competition, Naomi won first place in the Indianapolis Matinee Musicale Competition, was a National semi-finalist in the 2012 American Prize Opera Competition, and a finalist in the Teaneck Opera Competition. A Semi-Finalist in the Palm Beach Opera Vocal Competition, Naomi was a prize winner in the IU Travel Grant Competition. Through the Mu Phi Epsilon Foundation, she was a prize winner of the International Brena Hazzard Voice Scholarship and award winner of a Summer Scholarship for performing at Brevard’s Janiec Opera Company.
In Washington State, Ms. Ruiz was a winner of a CWU Travel Grant, and was an award winner of the Helen Crowe Snelling Scholarship Competition. In concert, recent engagements include Beethoven’s 9th SYMPHONY with the St. Cloud Symphony Orchestra, Faure’s REQUIEM, Eleanor Dailey’s REQUIEM, Handel’s MESSIAH, and Handel’s DIXIT DOMINUS. As a McNair Scholar, Naomi received a Bachelor of Music from Central Washington University. She holds a Master of Music and a Performer Diploma in Opera Performance from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.
