Eric Luis Viñas
Eric is a Palm Beach County, FL native and now based in New York City. Viñas has been seen recently in performances of Samuel in The Pirates of Penzance and Sid in Puccini’s La fanciulla del West at Central City Opera as a Summer 2024 Apprentice Artist. Other recent performances from 2022-2024 include a cover performance of Escamillo in Carmen (2024) Sharpless in Madama Butterfly (2023) and Morel in Thérèse (2023) at Sarasota Opera as a Studio Artist, a cover performance of Taddeo in L’italiana in Algeria (2023) at St. Petersburg Opera, Chorus in the American Society for Yad Vashem’s performance of Lera Auerbach’s Sugihara (2023) at Carnegie Hall featuring New York City Opera orchestra and Chorus, solo performances with the Taylor Festival Chorus in J.S Bach’s Christmas Oratorio (2022), Messiah (2022) with the Queens College Choral Society, and an invitation to perform Bob in Queens College Opera’s production of The Old Maid and the Thief (2022).
Both at the Miami Music Festival in Miami, Viñas’ performing has been noted for “movie star charisma” by the South Florida Classical Review on his debut operatic role as Sid in Benjamin Britten’s Albert Herring. Other comments include, from his 2017 performance of Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking, from Carly Gordon of Schmopera “Viñas’ crooning, cocky De Rocher stole the show, at once raw, frightened, and menacing. Viñas captured De Rocher’s anger and desperation with languid, smoky finesse.
Other roles include a debut as Marcello in Puccini’s La Bohème; Harlekin in Ariadne auf Naxos and Starveling in Benjamin Britten's operatic adaptation of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. In Boston, collaborations with New England Conservatory Opera and various ensembles at the institution had long lasting musical and personal impact. Performances there include the title role in Mozart's Don Giovanni in the spring of 2017 and a partially staged concert performance of Gian Carlo Menotti's Amahl and the Night Visitors as King Melchior in December of 2016. Other collaborations in Massachusetts include an appearance in "Opera Bites", a collection of short one act operas through the Boston Opera Collaborative, in which Tom Cipullo's The Husbands was performed in the fall of 2016.
In Los Angeles, local company Landmark Opera’s 2018 Hollywood production of Die Fledermaus as Dr. Falke; participation of a world premier of LA composer Michael Webster’s operatic adaptation of famous Samuel Beckett radio play All That Fall entitled Nice day for the Races; At USC, Melisso in Alcina; and in spring of 2019, role debut as Conte Almaviva in an updated production of timeless Le nozze di Figaro.
With a Bachelor of Music from New England Conservatory in Boston, MA, and Master of Music from University of Southern California, Viñas may continue to improve in singing, connecting with audiences, and learn all he can on this timeless and beloved artform.
what the critics are saying
"Viñas' crooning, cocky De Rocher stole the show, at once raw, frightened, and menacing. Viñas captured De Rocher's anger and desperation with languid, smokey finesse."
-Carly Gordon from Schmopera on summer 2017 performance of Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking in title role of Joseph de Rocher