Soprano, Cara Gabrielson, was a 2020 National Semifinalist in The Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition and subsequently joined the roster of The Metropolitan Opera in their 2022 production of Idomeneo. Recently, she was the Soprano Soloist in Carmina Burana with the San Francisco Symphony, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni with Livermore Valley Opera, Lucy in Fellow Travelers with Opera Parallèle, and covered the tile role in Florencia en el Amazonas with Opera San José. This season, Cara performs Brahms’ German Requiem with the Idaho State Civic Symphony and San Francisco Choral Society in addition to touring with Friction Quartet.

Cara is a versatile performer with a strong foundation in music of the Baroque era that has led her to other musical adventures in the world of contemporary music. Currently, she is performing Comedìa (Paul Mortilla) with Friction Quartet where madrigal style blends with extended vocal techniques. This commission has been made possible by Chamber Music America with the world premiere presented by the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players.

On the Early music scene, Cara was the Soprano I Soloist in Bach’s Magnificat with the San Francisco Symphony & Voices of Music, sang the title role in Acis & Galatea (Opera Idaho) and presented a recital of Purcell songs presented by the Oregon Bach Festival. Other credits include Haydn’s Kleine Orgelmesse & Bach’s Jauchzett Gott in allen Landen (Boise Baroque Orchestra), Handel’s Messiah (Handel Choir of Baltimore), Elisena (Ifigenia in Aulide) and Jocasta (Le Amazzoni) with Ars Minerva, Bach’s Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme (Marin Oratorio) and early Mozart arias with Amadeus Chamber Orchestra. As a Fellow at the Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Festival she was the Soprano Soloist in Bach’s St. John Passion and Purcell’s The Fairy Queen.

Her concert repertoire includes Bernstein's Chichester Psalms, Ives’ Psalm 90 and Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas as well as Distant Worlds: Music from Final Fantasy (San Francisco Symphony), Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Oregon Ballet Theatre) and Knoxville: Summer of 1915 (Clark College Orchestra). Her operatic roles include Norina (Don Pasquale) with Pocket Opera, covering the title role and singing Poussette (Manon) & covering Mimì (La bohème) with Opera Idaho, Parasha (Mavra) & Foreign Woman (The Consul) with Berkeley Chamber Opera, covering Clorinda (La Cenerentola) and singing Second Woman (Dido & Aeneas) with Opera Saratoga.

Cara graduated with her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music where she sang the roles of Musetta (La bohème), Atalanta (Serse), Nerone (Agrippina), The Rose (The Little Prince), Helene (Hin und zurück) and Drusilla (L’incoronazione di Poppea). She is an alumna of the Georg Solti Accademia di Bel Canto, Houston Grand Opera's Young Artists Vocal Academy and the Opera Saratoga Young Artist Program.

Cara grew up in Portland, Oregon and currently resides in the San Francisco Bay Area.