Calista Smith

• Joyce Van Cura Award American Opera Society of Chicago 2025
• Semi-Finalist Schmidt Vocal Competition, Upper Division 2025
• Encouragement Award Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition 2024
• Donald Chen Young Artist Award, Second Place 2024
• GRAMMY Award, Ensemble Member in Houston Symphony's Wozzeck 2018

Taiwanese-American soprano Calista Ro-Jei Smith currently attends Northwestern University and will pursue her master’s degree at the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music this fall. During her past two summers in the Aspen Opera Theater and VocalARTS program, she appeared as Barbarina/Le nozze di Figaro and ‘German woman’/Jimmy Lopez’s Bel Canto. At Northwestern, Smith has appeared as Gretel/Hänsel und Gretel, Oberto/Alcina, Cendrillon/Cendrillon, Mabel/The Pirates of Penzance, and as the soprano soloist in Beethoven’s Mass in C Major. Recently, Smith won an Encouragement Award from the Metropolitan Opera’s Laffont Competition and the American Opera Society of Chicago Award in honor of Joyce Van Cura.