Rita Fernandez

is a Spanish mezzo-soprano and sought-after baroque specialist. She studied at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague and can now be heard regularly as a soloist with various early music ensembles, including La Sfera Armoniosa, Utrecht Cathedral, the Residentie Bachensembles and the Castelo Consort. Her career began with the role of San Francisco in Zipolli's San Ignacio at the Marchesato Opera Festival in Saluzzo under the direction of Gabriel Garrido. Last season she made her debut as Dido with The Fat Lady Operagroup.

After her debut last November in the main hall of the Auditorio Nacional de Madrid with pianist and National Music Prize winner Rosa Torres-Pardo, she will appear as the Second Witch in Dido and Aeneas at the Dutch National Opera in April and May 2025 - a co-production with the Nederlands Reisopera and Opera Zuid.

Winner of the International Nina Solo Competition, Rita sang the role of Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro under the direction of Floris Visser and Dorabella in Così fan tutte under the direction of Jac van Steen and Benjamin Perry Wenzelberg during her studies.

Rita has a degree in Business Administration from IE, speaks six languages and has twice come second in the Madrid Chess Championships. After studying with Claire Lefilliâtre, she continued her musical training at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague, where she recently graduated with a minor in Early Music. She has made several recordings in Spain and abroad and has given a TEDx talk on opera