Carolena Belle Lara is making her mainstage role debut. Lara has a deep passion for research, teaching, and performing. She served as an associate chorister with HGO during the 2022-23 season before being promoted to regular chorister for the company in the 2023-24 season. She completed her Bachelor of Music degree in vocal performance and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Italian at the University of Oklahoma. She holds Master of Music (2018) and Doctor of Musical Arts (2022) degrees in Vocal Performance and Literature from the Eastman School of Music. During Lara’s time at Eastman, she was awarded Honorable Mention for her lecture recital “Modernizing Spanish-Language Vocal Music,” which highlights Latin American song and dialects and analyzes Irma Urteaga’s Canticos para soñar (Canticles for Dreaming).