Heralded by Opera News for their “lush” voice, Melina Jaharis is a Greek-American with a “rich, dark, resonant” mezzo soprano.

This season includes five exciting productions, two world premieres, Beyond the Horizon and Tin Angel with Teatro Grattacielo, as well as joining the company as Marcellina. Additionally, Melina will be joining Heartbeat Opera as the Page in Salome, covering Herodias. They will join Opera Company Middlebury as Zita, adding to their whopping list of 44 roles performed and covered. They will be singing excerpts from Rigoletto and Il trovatore with Opera Magnifico on their Verdi concert, as well as joining Regina Opera for a concert series. 

2023-2024 brought covering Santuzza and performing Lola with Regina Opera and joining the company for concerts, and covering Santuzza and Mamma Lucia with MidAtlantic Opera Productions as well, covering La Gran Vestale with Teatro Grattacielo. Melina joined Bronx Opera as La Ciesca, Marianna (Il signor Bruschino) and Fairy Queen (Iolanthe).  The summer brought Fricka/Erda in Das Rheingold. 

Highlights of their 2022-2023 included covering Madre in Madama Butterfly and scenes as Eboli and Ulrica with Sarasota Opera. That summer she covered Amneris, Ortrud and Mrs. Soames with Utah Festival Opera.  They also sang the title role of Carmen with MIOpera. 

Their 2021-2022 season included the world premiere as the title role of Charley in Good Country with LOLA Austin, Isabella in Zandonai's Giulietta e Romeo with Teatro Grattacielo as well as covering Bellx and Calypso in Nighttown with Lowell House Opera.

From 2018-2021, they were briefly singing as a soprano. In the 2019-2020 season, they performed Hannah After (As One) with the Carolina Performing Arts in Chapel Hill, NC. Soon after they would have covered Leonore (Fidelio) with the Oxford Philharmonic [covid cancellation] and they would have made their European debut performing As One in Lisbon, Portugal. 

In 2018, Melina sang with Wolf Trap Opera, performing Contessa di Ceprano and covering Maddalena. The previous summer they joined Brevard’s Janiec Opera Company to cover Marcellina and perform Mrs. Olsen in Street Scene. Equally comfortable speaking German and English, they studied in Vienna, Austria at the Konservatorium Prayner in the year before their graduate studies. 

Other favorite roles include: Donna Elvira, Gertrude, die Knusperhexe and Marcellia. 

Melina is a Greek citizen.

Past training includes: Sarasota Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, Utah Festival Opera, Brevard Music Center's Janiec Opera Company, AIMS in Graz, Konservatorium Prayner (Vienna, Austria), Midwest Institute of Opera, Manhattan Opera Studio, Miami University in Salzburg, La Musica Lirica, IES in Vienna and the Music Institute of Chicago.

They trained at the Piven Theater and Giordano dance studio as well.

Melina has trained as a singer, actor and dancer from age 8. Since the age of 4, they have studied many foreign languages, such as Greek, Italian, French, German and Russian. 

Melina Jaharis is queer and nonbinary (they/them). They passionately support many causes that fight to end social injustices, such as Black Lives Matter (Black Liberation), Disability Justice, Fat Liberation and Trans Liberation.