Mezzo-soprano Victoria Vargas returned to Minnesota Opera last season as a guest artist in the role of Mrs. Lowe in The Manchurian Candidate and in the title role of Carmen, which she also recently sang with Lyric Opera of the North (Duluth). Previously, she spent four seasons as a Resident Artist, singing the roles of Tisbe in Cinderella, Anna in Mary Stuart, Flora in La traviata, Nelly in Wuthering Heights, Alisa in Lucia di Lammermoor, Suzuki in Madame Butterfly, Fenena in Nabucco and Smeton in Anna Bolena, Adelaide in Arabella, Natacha Rambova in The Dream of Valentino and the Third Lady in The Magic Flute. In 2013, she was a second place Upper Midwest regional finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Most recently, Ms. Vargas sang Kate Pinkerton in Minnesota Orchestra's Sommerfest production of Madame Butterfly, and was soprano soloist with the Phoenix Symphony. Soon she will debut with the South Dakota Symphony and also appears as Dido in Dido and Aeneas in a collaboration between MacPhail Center for Music and the University of Minnesota. Ms. Vargas has been a young artist at Sarasota Opera and Chautauqua Opera, where she covered the role of Mamma Lucia in Cavalleria rusticana. At Chautauqua, she returned for a second season as an Apprentice Artist, performing Laura in Luisa Miller and the Second Lady in Die Zauberflöte. Ms. Vargas was also a Gerdine Young Artist at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, covering the role of Ruth in The Pirates of Penzance. Other credits include Marcellina in Le nozze di Figaro for Ash Lawn Opera and Martina Arroyo’s Prelude to Performance; the Witch in Hansel and Gretel, the title role in Carmen and Dorabella in Così fan tutte for Hillman Opera; Madame Armfeldt in A Little Night Music for Lyric Arts International; and Miss Todd in The Old Maid and the Thief for Fredonia Opera Theater.