Ola Rafało, a Polish-American mezzo has been called a "Vocal Powerhouse", and "a Budding next Cossotto", by critics. “Ola Rafało proved to be a mezzo to watch, with a strong Stride la Vampa” said Anne Midgette, for the Washington Post, of The Washington Chorus’ Essential Verdi concert 2014, at the Kennedy Center. There, Rafało was featured in scenes as Azucena, and Amneris. “A Mezzo with great promise”, Tim Smith, Baltimore Sun (Nabucco, Opera Baltimore 2014). 

During the 2013-14 season, Ola debuted the title role in La Tragedie de Carmen with Syracuse Opera, to great acclaim. Opera Times said that she “established her character immediately as a seductress par excellence, and her pitch in the devious Seguidilla was incredibly accurate — with no sign of seams when navigating through vocal registers during the spacious octave leaps that permeate this demanding aria.” Ola triumphed at Carnegie Hall as the Alto soloist in Vivaldi’s Gloria. She was featured in De Falla’s El Amor Brujo with the Pacific Symphony, which she sang with a “fine dusky quality”-L.A. Times. Ola also sang in the Essential Verdi Gala at the Kennedy Center, and in a “Pop-opera concert” with Opera Tampa. Rafało closed the season with her debut at Baltimore Lyric Opera as Fenena in Nabucco.

In the 2014-2015 season, Ola reprised the role of Fenena (Nabucco) with Opera Carolina, again to great acclaim. “Rafało produced the best singing of the evening, in spite of her role being smaller. Ola has a very powerful instrument and uses it with good technique, producing her notes with a great deal of precision. She has a very pleasant timbre an her passaggio is smooth with perfect pitch control. She started up already warm and didn’t miss a beat or a note. "– Luiz Gazzola of Opera Lively. Ola returned to the Pacific Symphony to sing the title role highlights from Carmen in concert. She was featured in another Verdi Gala, singing selections from Il Trovatore, and the Verdi Requiem with Gulfshore opera, under Maestro Paul Nadler. 

In 2015-2016, Ola sang the title role in Bizet’s Carmen with New Jersey Verismo Opera, debuted the role of Azucena in Il Trovatore with Opera Forza, and the role of Charlotte in Werther with Martha Cardona Opera, at the Kaufman Center. Ola returned to Gulfshore Opera for the Legends of Opera Gala featuring Samuel Ramey. She also was featured in concert with the Springfield Symphony, singing highlights from Samson et Dalila,  and concerts with Manhattan Lyric Opera. This spring Ola made her debut performance in Italy, singing in a concert at Teatro Curci di Barletta, with Maestro Roberto Corliano. Ola recieved an award from UNESCO for her performance in the role of Alkmene in the Olympic Torch , (a modern Greek opera by P. Karousos).

In 2016-2017, Miss Rafalo was featured in a Verdi gala at the Altamura Center for the performing arts, followed by a "world peace" concert tour of Poland. Miss Rafalo debuted the role of the Mother in Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors, (Orlando Opera), and sang many concerts including with the Summit Symphony (arias), and the Paderewski Symphony (Karnaval Concert). She joined international superstar bass: Andrea Silvestrelli for a very successful duo recital at FermiLab auditorium in Chicago.

This current season of 2017-2018 Miss Rafalo won the Second Prize of the Altamura-Caruso Competition, which will take her to Osimo Italy for a performance at the Teatro Nuova Fenice in August. This season Ola performed with a new opera company in Orlando: Opera del Sol, in a unique production combining theatre, opera, dance, circus, and other elements entitled Opera Wars. She also joined the Paderewski Symphony once again to perform the American premiere of the Poniatowski Mass, an important work of Polish history and music. Ola will return to Gulfshore Opera this season to perform the role of Maddalena in Rigoletto, and to be featured in concerts.

Ms. Rafało, as a child of Polish immigrants to the U.S., is fluent in Polish, English and Italian. She carries dual passports for the U.S. and Poland, making her a natural interpreter of the slavic repertoire, in roles such as Olga in Eugene Onegin, Konchakovna in Prince Igor, Pollina in Queen of Spades, Ioanna in Orleanskaya Deva, and Jadwiga inStraszny Dwor. Other roles in her diverse repertoire include Adalgisa in Norma, and Giovanna Seymour in Anna Bolena.

Other career highlights include: Ola's performance as Fricka in Die Walküre, Suzuki in Madama Butterfly, and the title role of Carmen with the Lyric Orchestra. Miss Rafało was an apprentice artist at Sarasota Opera, where she received the Leo M.Rogers award, as well as a young artist at Opera Tampa, and Palm Beach Opera. Ola is the 2nd prize winner of the 2017 Altamura-Caruso competition. In 2015 Ola was awarded the Fourth Prize and the Audience choice award from the Young Patronesses of Opera Competition. She has also been awarded a career grant in the name of Giulietta Simionato from the Inter-city Arts foundation. In 2009, she was awarded the audience prize at the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, Southeast chapter. In 2008, she was awarded Grand Prize of the Elgin Opera competition and First Prize of the Sherrill Milnes Opera Idol competition.

OPERA REPERTOIRE

Verdi

Nabucco          Fenena

Il Trovatore         Azucena

Aida              Amneris

Don Carlo         Eboli

La Forza del Destino Preziosilla

Luisa Miller        La Duchessa

Wagner

Tristan und Isolde   Brangane

Tannhauser        Venus

Die Walkure        Fricka

Gotterdamerung    Waltraute

Saint-Saens

Samson et Dalila    Dalilah

Massenet

Werther            Charlotte

Cilea

Adriana Lecouvreur Principessa

Ponchielli

Gioconda          Laura

Mascagni

Cavalleria Rusticana Santuzza

Bizet

Carmen           Carmen

Berlioz

Les Troyens        Didon, Cassandra

Tchaikovsky

Onegin           Olga

Pikova Dama      Polina

Orleanskaya Deva  Ioanna

Mussorgsky

Boris Godunov     Marina

Khovanshchina     Marta

Rimsky-Korsakov

Tsar's Bride        Lyubasha

Moniuszko    

Straszny Dwor     Jadwiga

Dvorak

Rusalka          Jezibaba, Foreign Princess

Bellini

Norma           Adalgisa

Donizetti

Anna Bolena      Giovanna Seymour

La favorita        Leonora

Rossini  

Semiramide       Arsace

CONCERT REPERTOIRE

Mahler

Symphony 2

Symphony 3

Das Lied von der Erde

Des Knaben Wunderhorn

Prokofiev

Alexander Nevsky

Rachmaninov

Vespers

songs

Verdi

Requiem

Vivaldi  

Gloria

deFalla

el Amor Brujo

Durufle

Requiem

Elgar

Sea Pictures

Berlioz

La mort du Cleopatre 

Le nuits d’été