By Asia Nail
The Truth Reporter
When Filipino-American soprano Sarah Rachel Bacani graces the stage, it’s hard not to notice. Her voice doesn’t just fill the space, it seems to reach past the lights, settling into the audience like a story being whispered directly to them. As Toledo Opera’s Resident Artist, she is preparing to sing the role of Micaëla in Carmen at the Valentine Theatre, and while Bizet’s score is already unforgettable, Bacani has a way of making the music feel startlingly alive.
Opera hasn’t always defined her, but its meaning has grown clear. “When people think of opera, they imagine something stuffy or untouchable,” she laughs. “But at its core, opera is just storytelling. It’s love, heartbreak, jealousy, hope. Those emotions are universal.”
That’s exactly why she connects so deeply with roles like Juliette in Roméo et Juliette or the Dew Fairy in Hänsel und Gretel. In Carmen, the story may appear to revolve around soldiers, bullfighters, and fortune-tellers on the surface but, fundamentally, it’s about freedom, love and the choices that come with desire.
Set in Seville, Spain around 1830, the opera begins with soldiers stationed outside of a tobacco factory. Women spill into the street on break, seducing and laughing, the air alive with mischief—until Carmen steps into view.
Micaëla, a village girl, is searching for officer Don José. After she departs, the factory bell rings, and the men of Seville gather to watch the women workers return from their lunch break, especially their favorite, the Romani Carmen.
She teases the men, declaring that love cannot be bound by rules. Only Don José ignores her, until Carmen tosses him a flower, sparking a chain of desire, jealousy, and ruin.
Carmen likens love to a bird: wild, fleeting, impossible to tame. For Bacani, these portrayals are more than costumes and lines. “Every time I start a new role, I look for the piece of me that connects to that character,” she says. “The story could be a tragedy, but I always find that flicker of truth we all see.”
This personal connection is rooted in her own experience as a Filipino-American in a field where performers of color are still uncommon. “I think about the little Filipino girls who may have never seen someone who looks like them on the opera stage,” she shares. “If I can be that person for them—even just once—that means everything to me.”
Her path has been a melody of discipline and challenge. She studied at the Manhattan School of Music before earning her Master of Music and Performer Diploma at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, where she trained under her esteemed mentor, Jane Dutton.
Along her journey Bacani has embodied Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, and she is set to grace the Toledo Opera stage again this season as Giannetta in The Elixir of Love.
She has also earned accolades in competitions, including third place at the Fort Worth Opera McCammon Voice Competition, and the Irene Patti Swartz Memorial Award from the Florida Grand Opera National Voice Competition.
Still awards and accolades are not Bacani’s main focus. “Music has to connect,” she says, “otherwise, it’s just melodies without meaning. My goal is always to tell the truth with my voice.”
Carmen herself embodies the essence of independence, choosing freedom even when the cost is irreversible. “Why does Carmen make that choice? Why does José unravel the way he does? When you encounter them as real people, the audience feels it,” Bacani reflects, “and that’s why the story resonates.”
Then there is Bizet’s music. Carmen pulses with unforgettable melodies: the smoldering Habanera, the bold blaze of the Toreador Song. In the Valentine Theatre, those notes seem to carry a powerful weight and texture.
“Even if the words slip past you, the feeling is undeniable,” Bacani adds. “Bizet crafts melodies that settle in your chest. That vibration stays with you long after the curtain falls.”
What sets Sarah Bacani apart is her willingness to reframe opera as conversation rather than performance. Rehearsals are not just rehearsals, they are explorations. She sings beautifully, asks questions, and sees the bigger picture: opera belongs to everyone.
“Toledo Opera is doing something important,” she says. “Opera isn’t frozen in time. It’s living art that moves and transforms and new voices keep it vibrant and evolving. I’m so thankful for this opportunity.”
When the curtain falls, Bacani hopes audiences leave with more than music in their ears. “If an audience member walks away from the theatre a little braver, or in tune with their own passions, then we’ve done our job,” she reflects. “That’s what opera can do.”
This is the Carmen you can’t forget—at the Valentine, Oct. 10.