“Angel Raii Gomez (Ernesto) was the Audience Choice winner at last year’s Giargiari Bel Canto Competition, and indeed his liquid, warmly Mediterranian timbre is a crowd-pleasing sound; he’s also an appealing presence. When Gomez eases up – as in both the “Sogno soave e casto” and “Tornami a dir” – he’s a rising star”
– Parterre Box 2023

Angel Raii Gomez
Tenor

Angel Raii Gomez, an emerging talent on the international opera stage, is currently a member of the Metropolitan Opera’s prestigious Lindemann Young Artist Development Program. Last season he debuted the Metropolitan Opera in Frida, performed Almaviva in Rossini’s  Il barbiere di Siviglia in Charlottesville, and the role of Don Ramiro in Cenerentola with Wolf Trap Opera. Future engagements include his debut with New National Theatre Tokyo as Ernesto in Don Pasquale, Teatro de la Maestranza in Seville as Rodolfo in La boheme, Carmina Burana with Staatstheater Berna return to the Metropolitan Opera as Rodrigo in Verdi’s Otello, and Ravel’s L’enfant et les sortileges with St. Louis Symphony.

He is a 2025 graduate of the Academy of Vocal Arts and National Finalist of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition. Praised by critics for his “stage personality, tremendous wit and flare, and a heart-stopping pretty lyric tone”, he won the 2023 first prize in the prestigious Meistersinger Competition at AIMS in Graz, Austria, and the 2023 first prize in the Giargiari Bel Canto Competition.

In the 2024-25 season he sings the title roles in Mascagni’s L’amico Fritz and Gounod’s Faust both at AVA, and debuts Carnegie Hall with Mozart’s Requiem. He also debuted the roles of Duca di Mantova in Verdi’s Rigoletto and Pluton in Offenbach’s Orpheé aux enfers with Opera North in New Hampshire, and performed Beethoven’s 9^th Symphony with the Ocean City Pops.

Prior to that Angel debuted the role of Percy in Donizetti’s Anna Bolena at the Academy of Vocal Arts, followed by his much-anticipated debut there as Conte Almaviva in Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia. Other roles he has performed at AVA include Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, Ernesto in Don Pasquale, Gastone in La Traviata, and Triquet in Eugene Onegin.  He has also performed Rinuccio in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, Don Jose in Carmen, Podesta in Mozart’s La Finta Giardiniera, and Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass with the New Jersey Master Chorale.