Sandra Bengochea

Sandra Bengochea
Area Coordinator, Voice; Opera Theater
408-924-4658
sandra.bengochea@sjsu.edu

Professor Sandra Bengochea is a current addition to the San José State University Department of Voice. Soprano, Professor Bengochea has earned rave reviews for her spirited interpretations of the lyric coloratura repertoire. Described as having a "natural vivacity and charisma that resulted in a performance that was a joy from the first note to the last" (Opera News), she has performed over thirty operatic roles, ranging from the comic ones of Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro, Norina in Don Pasquale, Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, and Adina in The Elixir of Love to the dramatic ones of Gilda in Rigoletto, Mimi in La Bohème, Marguerite in Faust, Leila in The Pearl Fishers and the title role in Manon with companies such as Bangkok Opera, Opera San José, Great Falls Opera, Intermountain Opera, and Opera Idaho.

Recent engagements for Professor Bengochea include directing Opera San José's productions of Tosca, Carmen, and La Cenerentola and performing the role of Ilia in the company premiere of Mozart's Idomeneo, where she was praised by The Opera Critic: "Ilia's lilting lines are a perfect match for Bengochea. She sings with a relaxed optimism that matches Ilia's resilient demeanor."

Equally comfortable on the concert and recital stage, Professor Bengochea has performed the soprano solos in Orff's Carmina Burana, Schubert's Mass in G, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, Ralph Vaughan Williams' Dona Nobis Pacem, and Mozart's Requiem with orchestras such as The Winchester Orchestra, The Santa Clara Chorale, The San José Chamber Orchestra, The Sacramento Chorale Society and The Midsummer Mozart Festival. She has also sung operatic and musical theatre excerpts by composers ranging from Mozart to Puccini to Lloyd Weber with companies such as The California Philharmonic, Symphony Silicon Valley, The Peninsula Symphony, The San José Symphony, and the Midsummer Mozart Festival. She also performed with The Midsummer Mozart orchestra at Villa Montalvo, where she appeared as a last-minute replacement for Frederica Von Stade.

Professor Bengochea enjoys an active career as a music professor, stage director, vocal performer, and mother of two boys.