About Paulina
Soprano Paulina Francisco is quickly rising as an engaging and versatile performer of Baroque and early Classical music. She is a winner of the 11th edition of Les Jardin des Voix with Les Arts Florissants, with whom she is engaged for an international tour of Purcell’s The Fairy Queen, staged by Mourad Merzouki. Paulina made her Kennedy Center debut in February 2023 singing the role of Handel’s Esther and the North American premiere of Jean-Baptiste Moureau’s Musique pour L’Esther de Jean Racine with Opera Lafayette. Recent reviews have celebrated her as a soprano of “agility, impact, and vibrant projection” (ClassyKey) who “preserves a finesse of delivery allowing one to savor the ornamentation and agility of the tunes” (Olyrix). Upcoming performances include two chamber recitals for the Washington Bach Consort, a summer festival performance with Vox Luminis, and a North American tour of The Fairy Queen with Les Arts Florissants in July 2024.
Highlights from her 2023-2024 season include a young artist residency with Opera Lafayette, singing the title role in the North American premiere of John Eccles’ Semele with the American Baroque Opera Company, and curating a program of chamber music by women composers for the Washington Bach Consort. Paulina is in demand as a soloist and chamber musician with ensembles throughout North America, including TENET Vocal Artists, Bach Akademie Charlotte, Washington Bach Consort, Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal, La Chapelle de Québec, and the Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra. Paulina has been a finalist in international competitions including the Aria Borealis Bodø Chamber Music Competition in Bodø, Norway, and the Handel Aria Competition.
Paulina is passionate about building stronger connections between research and performance. Paulina’s research interests include 17th century monody and chamber music, early voice training, and the education and music making of early modern women. Her Master’s thesis “The Virtuosi of Ferrara: The Concerto delle Donne 1580-1601,” including a modern edition of Luzzasco Luzzaschi’s Madrigali (1601), and DM dissertation, “The 17th Century Trillo: Historical Practice for the 21st Century Singer,” are available on ProQuest. She is a co-author of “Laryngeal, Respiratory, and Acoustic Characteristics of Vocal Trillo With Simultaneous High-Speed Videoendoscopy, Inductive Plethysmography, and Acoustic Recordings,” which was recently published by the Journal of Voice. She has presented interdisciplinary research on the 17th-century trillo and early modern women at the International MedRen, IU Historical Performance, and Spheres of Singing Conferences, and has performed research and reconstruction presentations for Robert Ketterer (University of Iowa), Donald Burrows (The Open University), and Ayana Smith (Indiana University).
Paulina holds advanced degrees in voice and historical performance from Indiana University, the University of Southern California, and Carroll University.
