Keith Warner (Director, UK) says he wanted someone who could "sing like Maria Callas and act like Meryl Streep". 

And in leading lady Adria Firestone, he thinks he has found her. 

 Brisbane News, Australia

carmen, Act 1 - Greater Miami Opera 
Now, Florida grand opera

Adria Firestone walked on stage at age ten and built a 40-year career as an award-winning opera singer, musical-theatre performer, actress, concert artist, and recitalist. Her work encompassed opera, contemporary music, musical theatre, symphonic repertoire, television, and recordings, with performances across six continents.

Known for her dramatic intensity, fearless physicality, and commanding stage presence, she was repeatedly engaged by leading companies throughout the United States and internationally.

An acclaimed interpreter of modern and contemporary repertoire, Firestone performed Regina Giddens in Regina with Nashville Opera and Desirée in Sondheim’s A Little Night Music with Utah Opera during the 2002 Winter Olympics.

At San Diego Opera, she created the role of Doña Francisca opposite Jerry Hadley in the world premiere of Myron Fink’s The Conquistador. 

She is also the featured vocal artist on John Cage’s Works for Piano & Prepared Piano, Volume 4.

Firestone became internationally identified with her interpretation of Bizet’s Carmen. After her performances at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City, Reforma declared her “The Queen of the Palacio de Bellas Artes.”

Her Carmen opened San Diego Opera’s season opposite Richard Leech under conductor Richard Bonynge. She made her Italian debut at the Spoleto Festival in a new production directed by celebrated Spanish filmmaker Carlos Saura, televised live on RAI throughout Europe.

Her Carmen earned critical acclaim in Australia, Uruguay, New Zealand, Singapore, Mexico, Spain, and throughout the United States. She headed international casts for Houston Grand Opera and Florida Grand Opera and performed the role with Opera Queensland, Singapore National Opera, New York City Opera’s National Company, and companies across Spain, including Valencia, La Coruña, Ávila, Córdoba, and the Canary Islands.

Her performances in Auckland sold out ten houses, demonstrating not only her artistic impact but her considerable audience appeal.

Firestone made her role debut as the Witch in Hansel and Gretel with San Diego Opera. 

Her Dalila in Opera Queensland’s Samson et Dalila received exceptional critical acclaim for its vocal beauty, sensuality, and dramatic power.

She performed Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana with Kentucky Opera and Amneris in Aida with Utah Opera, the Colorado Springs Festival, and Mexico’s Festival de Sinaloa.

Her repertoire also included Madame Flora in The Medium with Florida Grand Opera; Ulrica in Un ballo in maschera, Angelina in La Cenerentola, and Isabella in L’italiana in Algeri with Orlando Opera; Prince Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus with Connecticut Opera and Palm Beach Opera; and the title role in La Périchole with Opera Omaha.

Her Maddalena in Rigoletto opened in Houston and led to her Canadian debut with Opéra de Montréal and Spanish engagements in the Canary Islands and Seville.

Firestone’s musical-theatre credits include Can-Can, The Sound of Music, Kismet, and West Side Story.

She performed Julie LaVerne in Show Boat with Houston Grand Opera and later took the production to Egypt for the opening of the rebuilt Cairo Opera House.

For her portrayal of Aldonza/Dulcinea in Man of La Mancha, she won the Carbonell Award for Best Actress in a Musical. She worked with well-known Don Quijotes, such as John Raitt, Ed Ames, and Harve Presnell. 

She was also nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Jenny in The Threepenny Opera.

As a recitalist, Firestone toured the Far East with the Ambassadors of Opera, performing in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and Korea.

She also toured the Persian Gulf, performing for U.S. military personnel during Operation Desert Storm.

Her symphonic repertoire included Verdi’s Requiem, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Manuel de Falla’s La vida breve, and Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen. 

She appeared with the Chicago Symphony under Eduardo Mata, the Sacramento Symphony, Florida Philharmonic, Greater Miami Philharmonic, and the Long Island, Palm Beach, Delaware, and Las Cruces Symphony Orchestras.

During performances of El amor brujo and La vida breve with Florida Grand Opera, Firestone received the Olson American Artist of the Year Award.

She was named Woman of the Year at Italy’s Spoleto Festival, where she later returned for Der Rosenkavalier. 

She won First Prize in the Center for Contemporary Opera’s International Voice Competition and received additional recognition through the San Francisco Opera Auditions, Palm Beach Opera Scholarship, and National Institute for Musical Theatre Competition.

Born in Los Angeles and educated in Florida, Firestone is of Italian, Cuban, and Spanish heritage. She pursued advanced vocal study in Milan and works professionally in Spanish and Italian.

Following her international performance career, she served for 23 years on the faculty of New Jersey City University’s Music, Dance and Theatre Department. 

She has presented master classes, workshops, clinics, and keynote programs for Lincoln Center’s Meet the Artist series, Duke University, Northwestern State University, professional arts organizations, and educational institutions internationally.

In June 2026, she was selected as a Top 50 Finalist in Next Top Speaker Season 7 from  4,000 international applicants.