Aliana de la Guardia is an artist who transcends conventional boundaries. An accomplished producer, operatic soprano, and theater artist specializing in new music and new opera, she is a mystical weaver of human interaction. She champions new artistic work that explores mythical worlds and real ones, asks hard questions, demands exploration, and gives context for the lives we live with joy, grief, and catalyzing change, and transcendence.

Aliana’s impact is attributed to a remarkable array of accomplishments and contributions. Panorama Boston writes “Aliana de la Guardia has made a significant impact on the music industry through her accomplishments to date.”

She is at the forefront of her generation of artist-entrepreneurs with skills that stretch beyond operatic performance. From artistic planning, company operations, financial management, project management, and team building, to grant writing, fundraising, planning, and strategy, her emphasis on wellness, holistic entrepreneurship, creative authenticity, and passionate mentorship of the next generation of artist-entrepreneurs, make her a Jedi of the arts world.

Aliana is a proud neurodivergent artist-entrepreneur, and her experience with ADHD serves as a unique catalyst that enhances her entrepreneurial abilities within the artistic realm. Her divergent thinking and boundless creativity enable her to conceptualize innovative projects and envision artistic ventures that defy traditional boundaries. Her hyperfocus allows her to delve deeply into creative pursuits, fostering an unmatched dedication and attention to detail that is integral to successful entrepreneurship. She has an uncanny capacity to seize opportunities swiftly, adapt to dynamic environments, and navigate the ever-evolving landscape of the arts industry with agility and intuition. This perspective not only infuses her entrepreneurial endeavors with a fresh and unconventional approach but also amplifies her ability to envision groundbreaking artistic initiatives, pioneering new pathways that challenge conventional norms and captivate diverse audiences.

Her journey is one of resilience, innovation, and a mystical dedication to crafting transformative art that enriches lives, transcends boundaries, and resonates deeply within the hearts of audiences worldwide.

Guerilla Opera, under Aliana de la Guardia’s artistic leadership, continues to be one of the Boston music scene’s most creative outposts. (Boston Musical Intelligencer)

As a co-founder of Guerilla Opera, an artist-led, BIPOC and feminist opera ensemble, Aliana has been an integral member of the team that leads this avant-garde opera ensemble since 2007. Her artistic contributions and executive leadership have been pivotal in curating a groundbreaking repertoire of 40 new operas, showcasing the visionary works of 30 composers, each crafting roles perfectly tailored to her ferocious and commanding theatrical abilities. With Guerilla Opera, she enraptured audiences with her “beautiful fragility and strength” (I Care If You Listen) in the premiere of Hannah Lash’s Beowulf, and “struts her stuff” (Opera News) in the raunchy Loose, Wet, Perforated by Nicholas Vines with Gramophone praising her “dizzying flights of [musical] virtuosity.”

In 2022, Aliana’s captivating solo performance in Guerilla Opera’s “SALT” secured an esteemed place within the illustrious ICE Factory Festival in New York City’s New Ohio Theater. Guided by the creative direction and narrative prowess of Deniz Khateri, interlaced with the mesmerizing melodies of Bahar Royaee, the captivating visions of Nuozhou Wang's video projections, and the enchanting luminosity of Keithlyn Parkman's lighting designs, Aliana's performance was the essential alchemical ingredient of this breathtaking production. Not merely a star but also a guiding force, Aliana starred and supervised the development of this opera. Her collaborative efforts with multiple partners led to the highly acclaimed debut of the production to full houses in New York City. Spellbound reviewers wrote that “Salt is remarkable on every level” (HI! Drama, NYC) and ”a compelling piece with complexities hidden beneath its salty surface.“ (All About SOLO, NYC).

Her multifaceted artistry was further tested by spearheading the production and starring in three captivating experimental films. Ofelia’s Life Dream, directed by Laine Rettmer and written and with music by Caroline Louise Miller stands as a shimmering early milestone in her journey as a film producer. However, her greatest achievement as a film producer manifested during I Give You My Home, directed by Cara Consilvio and written and with music by Beth Wieman. In addition to starring in the film, Aliana navigated negotiations across five diverse filming locations and collaborated with partners spanning three New England states to illuminate the poignant tale of a Bostonian woman's role in the suffrage movement. This was in addition to her luminescent performance of the opera, with “intensity of character” (Boston Classical Review), live on the site of the protagonist’s true-life childhood home, now the Nichols House Museum on Beacon Hill in Boston, and releasing a studio album of the opera on Navona Records.

Beyond the realm of film, she orchestrated a dynamic convergence of drama, film, and music, earning acclaim as the creator and curator of The Guerilla Underground—a groundbreaking virtual performance festival. This innovative platform probes and redefines the essence of what truly constitutes the "operatic," heralded as a "veritable feast of drama, film, and music" by The Boston Musical Intelligencer.

Amid her artistic achievements with Guerilla Opera, Aliana has consistently embodied the role of its executive director, weaving strategic visions and channeling organizational energies to steer the ensemble’s journey. She oversees the flow of funding and resources and weaves inspiration into her team to magnify Guerilla Opera's impact within the community. Through team-led strategic efforts, the company’s operating revenue increased by 500% during the years of COVID-19, while adding 2 additional administrative positions. Her singular fusion of leadership, financial acumen, and stakeholder engagement serves as an alchemical elixir that fosters collaboration and enduring sustainability.

In addition to her revolutionary work with Guerilla Opera, she is half of the voice and percussion duo, Bahué, which celebrates Latin culture through music. This emerging partnership with percussionist Ariel Campos has conjured a repertoire of 15 new works in only one season. With performances in California and Massachusetts, this unfolding repertoire continues to flourish, foretelling an evolution in the anthology of contemporary classical music by Latin-identifying composers through this Latin-led initiative. Composer Jaime Díaz agrees that “Bahué’s work engages deeply with Latinidad in the new music scene.”

Heralded as a "refreshingly anomalous player on the Boston scene" (Stuff Magazine), her enigmatic aura pulses far beyond local confines, traversing the landscapes of New England and weaving her enchanting artistry nationwide. As a freelance soprano vocalist, she is celebrated for her captivating ability to conjure ethereal melodies with “dazzling flights of virtuosity” (Gramophone), enchanting audiences with her “vocally fearless” performances that are “fizzing with theatrical commitment” (The Boston Globe).

In collaborations with arts organizations throughout the country, she has enchanted stages and found joy within the music of today’s most eminent composers including Scenes from a Novel by György Kurtág, the Aspen Suite by Salvatore Sciarrino, and Nenia: The Death of Orpheus by Harrison Birtwistle conducted by Jeffery Means with The Ludovico Ensemble, we well as several performances of the celebrated Kafka Fragments by György Kurtág with esteemed violinist Gabriela Diaz.

A favorite operatic role includes the Governess in Enigma Chamber Opera’s contemporary staging of Britten’s Turn of the Screw directed by Kirsten Cairnes. An unusual appointment as Aliana does not usually embody roles from traditional repertoire, her bewitching portrayal of the Governess was a tour-de-force performance. Haunted by deep childhood trauma, shrouded in agoraphobic tendencies, and veiled by hallucinatory realms born of her isolation, The Boston Globe wrote “thank goodness for Aliana de la Guardia… the Governess’s torment felt quite real, and de la Guardia dragged me through the wringer with her.”

Other noteworthy roles include the Doctor in Persona by Keeril Makin, based on the Ingmar Bergman film, directed by Jay Scheib and under the music direction of Evan Ziporyn with Beth Morrison Projects, and Oration by Line Tjönoi under the music direction of Lidiya Yankovskaya with the Center for Contemporary Opera.

Her appearances span across revered institutions nationwide, including those with American Lyric Theater, Americas Society/Council of the Americas, Castle of our Skins, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Dinosaur Annex, Monadnock Music, New Gallery Concert Series, Transient Canvas, and Windsor Music. She has participated in The Boston Conservatory New Music Festival, Boston New Music Festival, Pine Mountain Music Festival, and recently made her Lincoln Center debut singing the music of fellow Cuban composer, Yosvany Terry at the SONIC Festival presented by the American Composers Orchestra.

Aliana is a celebrated recording artist appearing frequently with PARMA Recordings. She can be heard singing lead roles on Guerilla Opera’s commercial releases of Loose, Wet, Perforated by Nicholas P. Vines, Rumpelstiltskin by Marti Epstein, and I Give You My Home by Beth Wiemann, for which she was also a producer. Her PARMA Recordings debut was as a featured artist on The Vocal Music Of Alan Beeler, and went on to collaborate on the subsequent releases of Voices of Earth and Air Vol V singing with "subtlety and expressive intensity" (Sonograma) the breathtaking works from composers Matha Hill Duncan and Beth Wiemann, the evocative melodies of Carl Vollrath on Old & New Poetry Volume I & Volume II, the folkloric tunes of Marvin J. Colton on Fleeting Realms Vol. 2, of which Colton wrote “Aliana sang like a goddess... I never imagined that my music could sound this good.”

A champion of new music repertoire, Aliana can also be heard on the BMOP Sound label singing the lead role in the opera Cymbeline by Charles Fussell, which was named one of 2018’s top Orchestral CDs with Voices by Sequenza 21, and in the recent unprecedented release of Acrobats of God, in which Aliana narrates the cherished ballet written for orchestra and narrator, The Owl and The Pussycat by composer Carlos Surinach. Originally commissioned by Martha Graham, this is the defining recording of the distinctive ballet, whose narration was originally premiered by the iconic Liza Minnelli. Of this performance, Music Web International prises Aliana’s performance. “‘The Owl and the Pussycat’ has a stylish female narrator [Aliana de la Guardia] who gives herself to the innocence of Lear’s poem.”

Her work in studio recordings delves into realms of independent labels featuring the bold song cycle “Cleopatra” with long-time collaborators pianist Tae Kim and composer Andy Vores, and in the works by Curtis K. Hughes on the compilation album “Danger Garden” and singing the lead role of Sarah Palin on Guerilla Opera’s debut studio recording, Say It Ain’t So, Joe.

Beyond the confines of a contemporary classical musician, Aliana is a versatile theater artist adept at conjuring genre-bending performance art, improvised and devised theater, video, and film, and bewitching performances in intimate settings. In Stand by Snow: Chapter One Chronicles of a Heatwave with Mountain Time Arts, Aliana transforms characters, from a forest scientist to Lewis and Clark parodies. She co-composed and performed songs with Ganavya Doraiswamy for the experimental work of Atlas Unlimited, on a libretto based on interviews with a true-life sculptor and Syrian refugee. These songs were recorded and released as experimental short films co-created by artists Karthik Pandian and Andros Zins-Browne on Triple Canopy in addition to the live performances in 2019. Aliana further proved her artistic flexibility in a guest-starring role on ABC’s 2010 television crime series “Body of Proof” in scenes opposite actor John Carroll Lynch.

Aliana’s artistic triumphs represent only a fraction of her abilities. She shines as a Latina arts leader at the forefront of her generation who is a guiding light for equity, inclusivity, and multicultural collaboration. Her ongoing commitment to Guerilla Opera and Bahue steadfastly addresses and dismantles racial and gender disparities and lack of representation ingrained within the classical music industry. In addition to this, she initiated and led Guerilla Opera’s endeavors to introduce inventive multisensory operatic experiences for the Visually Impaired and Blind Community in Boston.

As the long-time Executive Director of Guerilla Opera, she boasts executive skills honed through years of self-taught experience and garnered from relationships with her early distinguished mentors, Richard Ortner, former president of The Boston Conservatory, and Carole Charnow, former Executive Director of Opera Boston, now Executive Director of the Boston Children’s Museum.

Emboldened by her experience with these cherished mentors, she applied and was accepted to participate in Opera America’s prestigious Mentorship Program for Women in Opera, paired with Lee Anne Myslewski, Vice President of Opera and Classical Programming at the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts in Vienna, VA. This highly competitive Mentorship Program was created to advance gender parity in the opera field and to identify the most promising up-and-coming female-identifying leaders in the opera industry. She also engaged in a custom-tailored mentorship with Double Edge Theatre shadowing Producing Executive Director Adam Bright, Co-Artistic Director Carlos Urinoa, and other members of the organization, supported by a Public Art Learning Fund grant award from the New England Foundation for the Arts. She was selected to participate in the 2022 Nonprofit Learning Institute, a professional development series for Greater Boston nonprofits in partnership with Bank of America and Philanthropy Massachusetts, the Creative County Initiative Changemakers, an initiative of the Essex County Community Foundation, and is a 2023 recent recipient of a Capacity Grant from the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts ValleyCreates Initiative and administered by MASS MoCA’s Assets for Artists program.

As an accomplished grant writer, she has received awards from esteemed foundations and agencies such as the National Endowment for the Arts, Mass Cultural Council, various local cultural councils, and private foundations including The Boston Foundation, The Barr Foundation, Opera America, New England Foundation for the Arts, New Music USA, The Amphion Foundation, Aaron Copland Fund for Music, the Alice M. Ditson Fund, among others.

An engaged member of her community, Aliana contributes her time serving on grant selection panels and various leadership roles, reflecting her deep dedication to enriching her community. She has served on grant panels for New Music USA, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the New England Foundation for the Arts. She is a member of Opera America’s Membership Council and Women in Opera Steering Committee. Served as a member of the Haverhill Multicultural Festival Planning Committee and is the treasurer of Guerilla Opera’s Board of Directors.

Aliana is a passionate mentor to the next generation of creatives. She offers one-on-one coaching for creatives through Guerilla Opera’s summer programs, is addition to leading master classes and lecturers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, Boston Conservatory at Berklee, Lawrence Conservatory, Vermont College of Fine Arts, University of Maine, and the University of Memphis, as well as serving as a faculty mentor at the New England Foundation for the Arts 2021 Regional Dance Development Initiative. Her speaking engagements include the Washington National Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Boston Singers Resource, Classical Singer Convention, and National Opera Association Convention.

She is an accomplished voice teacher and coach and is the owner and head instructor of the award-winning Dirty Paloma Voice Studio. Her students have won prizes from competitions like the National Association of Teachers of Singing Student Auditions, Seacoast Idol, Haverhill Idol, as well as coaching established artists that have appeared on American Idol and NBC’s The Voice. Her experience can accommodate styles from contemporary commercial music to classical with continued education in vocal pedagogy from Shenandoah University and the Boston Conservatory at Berklee. She has adjudicated competitions for the National Association of Teachers of Singing Granite State, Boston and New England Chapters and is the former treasurer of the Granite State Chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing.

Aliana finds joy in mentoring emerging generations of artists, and for this reason, is thrilled to have joined the voice faculty at the Community Music School of Springfield in 2023. Her students in Springfield represent diverse backgrounds, many from marginalized communities as well as first-generation college students, reflecting her commitment to empowerment through music education.