Biography

The San Francisco Chronicle exclaims, “For theatrical charisma and musical bravado, it would be hard to top the performance of baritone Efraín Solís.” In the 2023-24 season, he makes his European debut as Dandini in La ceneretola at Staatsoper Hamburg. He also returns to the roles of Mark in Cruzar la cara de la luna with Minnesota Opera and Austin Opera and Dulcamara in L’elisir d’amore with Charlottesville Opera as well as to Opera San José for both Mercutio in Roméo et Juliette and Alvaro in Florencia en el Amazonas, On the concert stage, he sings Handel’s Messiah with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra and Naples Philharmonic. Future engagements include his debuts with Santa Fe Opera and Dallas Opera. Last season, he returned to San Francisco Opera as as Thierry, Le medicin, and the Jailer in Dialogues des Carmélites and made further returns to Opera San José as Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro, Opera Santa Barbara as Germano in La scala di seta, West Edge Opera for his first performances of Laurentino in Cruzar la cara de la luna, and the Las Vegas Philharmonic for Handel’s Messiah. He also made his role and company debut as Dulcamara in L’elisir d’amore with Hawaii Opera Theater and returned to Papageno in Die Zauberflöte with the Santa Rosa Symphony.

He is a recent graduate of the San Francisco Opera Adler Fellowship and while with the company, sang his first performances of Papageno in Die Zauberflöte, Dandini in La cenerentola, Schaunard in La bohème, Silvano in Un ballo in maschera, Sciarrone in Tosca, and Prince Yamadori in Madama Butterfly. He joined Houston Grand Opera’s HGOCo, New York City Opera, El Paso Opera, and Opera Santa Barbara for previous performances of Mark in Cruzar la cara de la luna and Florida Grand Opera, Virginia Opera, and Opera San José for Charlie in Heggie’s Three Decembers.

Other recent performances for the baritone include Mercutio in Roméo et Juliette with Utah Opera, Opera Carolina, Virginia Opera, and Toledo Opera; Lieutenant Audebert in Puts’ Silent Night and Escamillo in La tragedie de Carmen, also with Utah Opera; Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro with Opera Memphis, Opera Delaware, Livermore Valley Opera; Malatesta in Don Pasquale with Opera Santa Barbara; Golaud in Pelléas et Mélisande with Opera Southwest and West Edge Opera; Aeneas in Dido and Aeneas with Opera San José, Di Cosimo in Catán’s Il postino with Virginia Opera; Slook in La cambiale di matrimonio with Philharmonia Baroque; El Payador in Piazzola’s Maria de Buenos Aires with Opera Southwest, the Father in Turnage’s Coraline and Glass’ Hydrogen Jukebox with West Edge Opera; Fiesque in Maria di Rohan with Washington Concert Opera, Gaspar in Rita with the New Century Chamber Orchestra, and Dick in Blitzstein’s The Cradle Will Rock with Opera Saratoga. He joined both Opera Delaware and Baltimore Concert Opera for concerts of opera favorites.

Mr. Solis sang his first performances of Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen with the Palo Alto Philharmonic and Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem as a guest artist at Concordia College. He joined the Berkeley Community Chorus and Orchestra for Britten’s War Requiem and both Las Vegas Philharmonic and New Choral Society for Handel’s Messiah. His debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic as the Peasant in Schönberg’s Gurrelieder was cancelled by the COVID-19 pandemic. An active recitalist, he has debuted with San Francisco Performances, joined the New York Festival of Song for multiple programs of Spanish repertoire and has sung a solo program of Granero and Turina with the Cincinnati Song Initiative. He has been presented in a Schwabacher Debut Recital in San Francisco and offered an additional recital program at the El Camino College Center for the Arts.

He is an alumnus of the prestigious Merola Opera Program, at which he sang Junius in The Rape of Lucretia and covered Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro. He is also a former member of Opera Santa Barbara’s Studio Artist Program. In 2013, he was a Grand Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and sang arias from Rodelinda and Le nozze di Figaro on the famed company’s stage with Marco Armilianto conducting. He was also a finalist in Houston Grand Opera's Eleanor McCollum Competition and the Loren L. Zachary Society for the Performing Arts National Vocal Competition. He holds a Master of Music from San Francisco Conservatory of Music, at which he sang Guglielmo in Così fan tutte and Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen and while at Chapman University, his performances included Beethoven’s Mass in C and Puccini’s Messa di Gloria.

“He was just as persuasive in the ensuing set of Russian songs, bringing still-voiced intensity to a folksong setting by Georgy Sviridov, and shaping Anton Rubenstein’s 'Swirling Waves' with gorgeous fluidity that led to a striking falsetto coda. Well-chosen songs in Spanish by María Grever, Carlos Gardel and (as an encore) Agustín Pérez Soriano found him dispatching pointed phrasing and hearty romantic ardor in roughly equal measure.”
— San Francisco Chronicle

Raves

“…and baritone Efraín Solís created yet another in the series of impeccably etched performances that have marked his career in the Bay Area. His Laurentino was by turns cocky and remorseful, and conveyed throughout by singing of lustrous presence.”
— San Francisco Chronicle