Written by Regina Ender
Considering Isabella Luchi is an award-winning international opera singer, it is incredible that she didn’t even know what opera was until she was 19. Originally from Brazil, Luchi initially planned to be a diplomat. When she joined her campus choir at her high school, Instituto Federal do Espírito Santo, she realized singing was her calling and the entire course of her career changed.
Her immense passion shines through when she sings, and this passion won her high marks in several singing competitions in Brazil. Luchi made her mark on the national television competition show Prelúdio making her way to the 9th round in July of last year. She also earned first place in 2016 at Amadeus, a lyric singing competition, and won 3rd place in the National Chamber Music Competition hosted by Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro.
Knowing she wanted to continue to grow as a singer, Luchi decided to move across the world to further her education. On New Year’s Eve, she arrived at APU to pursue her master’s in vocal performance. Being at APU has only increased her passion for her art, both in growing her own personal technique and in seeing her peers thrive. In one of her classes during her undergraduate course at Faculdade de Música do ES, a friend’s performance of "Air des clochettes" impacted her deeply and left her with a more intense passion for opera. Through all of her performances, she hopes she can touch people’s hearts as meaningfully as other opera performances have done for her. Luchi describes performing as the moments she feels most alive, and when she sings, she said she feels closest to God.
As an international student, Luchi said she’s grateful for the support she has gotten on campus. She has especially connected to Professor Angela Blasi, who she describes as being an angel during the transition process of getting acclimated to a new culture so far away from home. Luchi has also found a meaningful community with other students through the International Center, which even connected her with other Brazilian students. The opera singer said she could not have come all the way to California without the support of her parents and her private vocal teacher, and while she’s so far away from them, she’s felt her new friends at APU have started to feel like family.
Words of Wisdom: “Let go of pride, fear, expectations, shame. None of these will help you. Be open. There is always something new you can learn. Be flexible. We may not find the perfect conditions, or we may find different opinions, so learn how to adapt. It’s okay to fail. Learn from it. Don’t give it too much importance. A career is not made in one day.”
