Soprano Desirée Earl Soteres is equally at home in concert, musical theater and on the operatic stage and has been praised for her superb characterization and powerful vocal ability.  She began her professional career as an apprentice with the Portland Opera in Oregon. Since then, she has appeared with opera companies and orchestras throughout the United States and abroad and is a frequent guest vocalist and recitalist. 

In May, Desiree will perform in concert for Let Them Eat Cake a benefit for the Midwife Center of Pittsburgh. Recently, she performed at Chatham University in a Wagner Celebration and at Salon on Emerson in a Kurt Weill salon. 

As a soloist with Pittsburgh’s Alia Musica she premiered Kierkegaard's Pantoum by composer David Lidov, was soprano soloist in Marcus Kim’s Songs for Iraqi Children and Al Vacio by composer Federico Garcia, a work she premiered at the inaugural New Dischord Festival in Chattanooga.

Desiree created the role of Pamela in the premier of TOOWHOPERA by composer Sorrel Hays at for the Georgia MTA Conference in Rome, GA.  On the concert stage she has recently appeared in New York at the 40th anniversary for Opera Volunteers International, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Orchestra, Chattanooga Symphony Orchestra, Chattanooga Bach Choir, CreateHere’s Hops and Opera and Chattanooga Theatre Center.

Highlights of her theatrical performances include Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflöte with West Bay Opera, Stockton Opera, Opera San José and Pocket Opera, Despina in Così fan tutte with Mission City Opera, Blonde in Abduction from the Seraglio and Yvette in La Rondine with Pocket Opera, Cunegonde in Candide with Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. Other roles include Rosa Bud in The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Abigail in The Crucible, Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance, Zerlina in Don Giovanni, Madame Herz in The Impresario, Lucy in Threepenny Opera, Monica in The Medium, and Pamina in The Magic Flute.

She was a featured performer in a series of concerts in Europe, South America, and Australia aboard Cunard’s Vistafjord and Royal Viking Sun.
 
She was named a world finalist in the Luciano Pavarotti International Voice Competition, a regional finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, a semi-finalist in the Jenny Lind Competition and a regional winner in the MacAllister Competition.

Desirée received her MM in vocal performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and has also studied in Austria and has served as an Artist-in-Residence at the Portland Opera in Oregon.