Biography
Bass-baritone Poveda Zavala, originally from the highland country of Ecuador, is a graduate of the Lamont School of Music at the University of Denver.
Poveda Zavala is joining the Opera Colorado roster of resident artists for their 2024 – 2025 season where he will be making his debut as Bartolo from The barber of Seville in the touring artists production, Benoit from La bohème in the mainstage production, as well as Seargent Sulpice from La fille du regiment in the student matinee production. In addition, Poveda Zavala will be covering the Father in Hansel and Gretel for the touring artists production, and Seargent Sulpice in La fille du régiment for the mainstage performances.
Poveda Zavala is set to make his debut as José Castro from La fanciulla del west as an apprentice artist with Central City Opera for their 2024 summer festival season, where he will also be covering the roles of Ashby in the same production, and Mr. Olsen in Street scene by Kurt Weill.
In November of 2023, Poveda Zavala was Masetto in Opera Colorado’s Student Matinee of Don Giovanni. In September of 2023, Poveda Zavala sang the role of Dr. Falke in Die Fledermaus with Opera in Williamsburg conducted by Maestro Jorge Parodi. In June through August of 2023, he completed the apprenticeship program with Central City Opera where he was Frère Laurent in the emerging artists matinée of Gounod’s Romeo et Juliette and covered the role of Elmiro in Otello by Rossini.
Poveda Zavala has had the pleasure of working with companies in Colorado, including Opera Steamboat, Boulder Opera, and Denver Immersive Opera, where he performed the roles of Colline from La bohème and the Frog King in the abridged version of Lori Laitman’s The Three Feathers, El ogro from El gato con botas by Xavier Montsalvatge, and Duke Bluebeard in the English version of Bluebeard’s Castle by Béla Bartók.
In November 2022 Poveda Zavala sang the role of Leporello in Don Giovanni with the Vincerò Academy in Mazatlán, Mexico, conducted by Maestro Abdiel Vázquez. He made his company debut with Opera in Williamsburg in September 2021 performing the role of Dottore Dulcamara in L’elisir d’amore. In August 2021 he performed the roles of Bartolo and Antonio in ISOFOM’s production of Le nozze di Figaro in Morelia, Mexico, conducted by Maestro Parodi. Other recent roles include Monsieur Presto (Les mamelles de Tirésias), Le fauteuil and L'arbre (L'enfant et les sortilèges), Gaoler (Cabildo), Sarastro (Die Zauberflöte), Simone (Gianni Schicchi), and Talpa (Il tabarro) with the Lamont Opera Theatre during his studies at the University of Denver.
Poveda Zavala is the 2022 and 2021 winner of the Ann Logan Craft Vocal competition and a finalist at the Denver Lyric Opera Guild Competition in 2021 as well as a recipient of the Sherry Sheperd Sargent Memorial Award.