Eric Botto as Rodolfo in La bohème, Eklund Opera (2022)
Praised for his “warm-voiced” tenor (Stage and Cinema), Italian-American tenor Eric Botto is best known for his vocal and dramatic versatility onstage, dazzling audiences throughout the country with esteemed companies including Chautauqua Opera, Central City Opera, Opera San Antonio, Pacific Opera Project, First Coast Opera, New Amsterdam Opera, and others. Eric’s 2024/25 season includes multiple house and role debuts, starting with Opera Southwest as Federico in Carlo Coccia’s rarely-performed Matilde, ossia una fatale supposizione, directed by Martha Collins and conducted by Maestro Anthony Barrese. Following Matilde, Eric makes his role, house, and city debut in Los Angeles with Pacific Opera Project, portraying Il Conte di Belprato in their production of Don Bucefalo, directed by POP Artistic Director Josh Shaw and conducted by Kyle Naig. Rounding out 2024 in his hometown, Eric makes his house debut with Opera in the Heights in their production of Rachel Portman’s The Little Prince, conducted by Maestro Eiki Isomura and directed by Josh Shaw.
Eric Botto in “Fountain of Youth” Concert, Central City Opera (2023)
To kick off 2025, Eric joins the Sarasota Opera studio artist roster, with appearances as Don Basilio and Don Curzio in Le Nozze di Figaro, and in a double-bill of Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci. In May 2025, Eric makes his highly anticipated house and role debut as Tony with Indianapolis Opera in an original production of West Side Story, directed by Scott Perry and conducted by Maestro Alfred Savia. And to end the 2024/25 season, Eric is elated to make his professional debut as Rodolfo in Chautauqua Opera’s August production of La Bohème, directed by Keturah Stickann and conducted by Maestro Steven Osgood.
Eric Botto (Spoletta) in Tosca, Chautauqua Opera (2022)
Eric is a four-year alumnus of Chautauqua Opera’s young artist program, having served twice as an apprentice artist and twice as a studio artist. His credits include David in Nicolás Lell Benavides and Marella Martin Koch’s Pepito (2024), Spoletta in Tosca (2022), John Adams (cover) and Andrew Johnson in The Mother of Us All (2022). He has also performed as a soloist with the Chautauqua Symphony in selections from Manon, Le Nozze di Figaro, Company, and Les pêcheurs de perles, under the baton of Maestro Stuart Chafetz, and as a featured soloist in the world premiere of Chautauqua Opera’s In Our Silence (2020). In 2023, Eric joined Opera on the James as a Tyler Young Artist, with credits as Prunier (cover), Gobin, and Adolfo in La Rondine. And during 2021-2023, Eric pursued his Artist Diploma at the University of Colorado, thriving in Rodolfo in La Bohème (2022) and Alfredo in La Traviata (2021), both directed by Leigh Holman and conducted by Nicholas Carthy.
Eric Botto (Agent Cordero) in the workshop of Tom Cipullo’s The Calling (2023)
Possessing an equal passion for contemporary works as for classic repertoire, Eric has the unique opportunity to join Chautauqua Opera’s 2025 workshop of Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek’s newest opera, Lincoln in the Bardo, commissioned by The Metropolitan Opera for its 2026 premiere. In April of 2024, Eric participated in a semi-staged workshop with LOLA Austin and Venezuelan composer Carlos Cordero in their semi-staged production of Un Cuento de Luces y Sombras, directed by Rebecca Herman with Kyle Naig as conductor. And in 2023, Eric collaborated in his first workshop with renowned composer Tom Cipullo at the University of Colorado’s summer New Opera Workshop program (CU NOW). This unique program provided Eric the opportunity to collaborate with Cipullo in shaping the role of IRS Agent Cordero in his newest opera project, The Calling.
Eric Botto and Joseph Canuto Leon with the Chautauqua Symphony (2024)
Eric has received accolades from various competitions in recent years, including 1st place in both the Arizona and Birmingham Chapters of the Dorothy Lincoln-Smith Voice Awards Competition, 2nd place in the Lyra New York International Vocal Competition, 1st place in the National Association of Teachers of Singing (West Central Region), the Career Advancement Award from the Pikes Peak Opera League, and was a finalist in the nationally recognized Lotte Lenya Competition, hosted by the Kurt Weill Foundation. Eric holds an Artist Diploma from the University of Colorado, and music degrees from Colorado State University and the University of Mobile.