MA Top 30 Professional: Kerriann Otaño

Vice President of Engagement
OperaDelaware

Since transitioning from opera singer to arts administrator, Kerriann Otaño has proven a skilled champion for the art form, both via digital media and in-person.

As vice president of engagement at OperaDelaware, she encourages anyone curious about opera to give it a try while also helping singers build more sustainable careers.

Thousands know Otaño as “Opera Hype Girl,” her online alter ego. She has built a large social media following with highly fun, personable videos, some of them satirizing opera.

“I believe in sharing authentically on social media and not presenting an overly curated image of perfection,” Otaño says. “Opera Hype Girl is an amplified version of myself, so it’s easy to access her.”

In one successful TED-style talk, Otaño encouraged audiences not to fret about what they wear to the opera or feel put off by industry jargon.

“I like to remind audiences that they are an active part in the opera experience, encouraging them to participate and cheer like old school audiences used to,” she says. “People connect with my approach because I focus on joyful advocacy and encouraging curiosity with both new and existing audiences.”

She worked for a decade as a professional soprano, performing at such U.S. houses as Washington National Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Wolf Trap Opera.

Her roles included Micaela in Carmen, Countess Almaviva in The Marriage of Figaro, and Mary Custis Lee in Philip Glass’s Appomattox.

But the pressures of a singing career culminated in a health reckoning in 2019 marked by anxiety and depression. “I allowed myself to spiral into a place where I didn’t recognize myself, where I couldn’t access the joy that singing always gave me” she says.

Otaño landed her job at OperaDelaware the same year. As well as engaging audiences, she supports singers by speaking plainly about burnout and unpaid labor—themes she knows only too well.

“I believe arts institutions, especially at the regional level, have an opportunity to redefine what it means to work in the arts,” she says.