Seattle native Cristina Villareale has performed all over the northwest with organizations such as Seattle Opera, ACT Theatre, Skagit Opera and Village Theatre. Cristina began her career in musicals and plays. She was introduced to opera as a teenager, making her Seattle Opera debut as the young Gretel in Massenet’s Werther. She went on to graduate from the University of Washington’s Schools of Music and Drama and studied with the Daniel Ferro Vocal Program in Chianti, Italy. She has performed operas with the Astoria Music Festival (Pamina in The Magic Flute), Skagit Opera (Célie in Signor Deluso), and the University of Washington (Laetitia in The Old Maid and the Thief & La Chatte in L'enfant et les sortileges).
Cristina made her Seattle Gilbert and Sullivan Society debut in 2005 as the title character in their critically acclaimed production of Patience (see reviews below). She will return to the company in July, 2006 as Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance. She is also scheduled to sing the role of Adele in Bellevue Opera's production of Die Fledermaus in April, 2007. Other operetta and musical theatre credits include Offenbach’s Christopher Columbus (Fleurette), West Side Story (Maria), Fiddler on the Roof (Chava) and the world premier of Scott Warrender’s HappyPants! (Melody Hillshire). In a departure from her usual musical activities, Cristina took on the title role in Oscar Wilde’s play Salome in March 2006. The role took advantage of her considerable training as an actress and dancer.
Cristina has been a regular performer in the Seattle Opera Guild’s preview series and a recipient of their Singer Training Grant for the past two years. Preview roles include Les Contes d'Hoffmann (Antonia), Florencia en el Amazonas (Rosalba), Rigoletto (Gilda), and Mourning Becomes Electra (Lavinia Manon & Helen Niles) and The End of the Affair (Sarah Miles).
Cristina currently resides in Seattle with her husband and her two rabbits, Finnegan and Plurabelle (for all you James Joyce fans). She can be seen regularly as the Prima Donna at Fremont’s Ponte Vecchio Italian Bistro.