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Persian mezzo-soprano Raeeka Shehabi-Yaghmai has received critical acclaim for her "warm sound" and her "charismatic stage presence".
Recently she was featured as a Soloist with Monterey Opera Orchestra, Orchestra Nova, Symphony Silicon Valley, Festival del Sol, and premiered the role of The Widow in Michel Bosc's Assyrian Opera Qateeni at Modesto State Theatre and Elizabeth Schumatoff in Kenneth Wells' The First Lady at UCLA in Los Angeles. Future engagements include Siebel (Faust) with Center Stage Opera and Flora (La Traviata) with West Bay Opera and Rogue Opera.
Operatic credits include Poppea and Ottavia (L'incoronazione di Poppea), Rosina (Il Trionfo dell Onore), Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Cherubino (Le nozze di Figaro), Dorabella (Cosi fan tutte), Suzuki (Madama Butterfly), Lola (Cavalleria Rusticana), Hansel (Hansel and Gretel), Polina (Pique Dame), Mrs. Page (Merry Wives of Windsor), Nancy (Albert Herring), Mother (Amahl and the Night Visitors), Dinah (Trouble in Tahiti); and the title roles in Carmen, Iolanthe and La Perichole.
She has worked with San Francisco Opera Center, North Bay Opera, Eldorado Opera, Livermore Opera, Oakland Opera theatre, Bear Valley Music Festival, Mendocino Music Festival, and made her European debut singing the title role in Carmen at Opera Brasov in Romania.
Ms Shehabi-Yaghmai's concert solo work includes Mahler's Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, Mozart's Coronation Mass, Bach's Magnificat, Haydn's Mass for Prince Nicolai, and Lord Nelson Mass.
Equally active in both opera and recital performances, Ms Shehabi-Yaghmai is much sought after for her expressive and well balance recital programs. She has been featured in a multitude of recital series. Among others, Salinas College, Brand Library, Iranian Women Scholarship Foundation, California State University of Northridge Alumni Performances, San Francisco Conservatory of Music Faculty Performances and Ensemble Parallèle.
An avid interpreter of Persian folksong and melodies, Ms. Shehabi-Yaghmai started the "Persian Melody Project" and has done extensive research on the genre. In 2007 PMP started collaborating with composer David Garner and in 2008 it was awarded a generous grant from the "Unique Zan Foundation". Ms. Shehabi-Yaghmai's recital at Brand Library Music Series in Glendale, CA marked the debut of a number of these song settings for piano and voice. Other performances in this genre include featured soloist for the Oakland East Bay Symphony, Monterey Symphony, International Sharif University Reunions in San Diego, Heidelberg (Germany), and Santa Clara, fundraiser gala for Iranian-American district supervisor of San Francisco Ross Mirkarimi, and The Iranian Women Scholarship Foundation in Berkeley.
In summer of 2005 Ms. Shehabi-Yaghmai established her first Summer Opera Workshop Company TANEEN OPERA in San Francisco, training aspiring beginning level opera singers who wish to gain experience in performing arts. She maintains an active vocal studio in San Francisco.
Ms. Shehabi-Yaghmai recently was chosen as a semi finalist for the New York Lyric Opera Competition. She was the winner of the 1999 CSUN annual concerto competition as well as a finalist for the prestigious Merola auditions where after she was hired as a resident artist with the San Francisco Opera Center. Additional awards include: Beulah Allen and John Vaznaian voice scholarships, the 1999 Outstanding Iranian Student Award, and The Outstanding Bachelor's Degree Graduate in Music at California State University of Northridge.
Ms. Shehabi-Yaghmai holds a Bachelor of Music, Magna Cum Laude, from California State University of Northridge, and a Master of Music and a Post Graduate Artist's Diploma from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.