Isabella Daltoso will be playing a key role in Handel’s ‘Rinaldo’ this summer
Isabella Daltoso is all about music.
In her future.
In her past.
In her present.
Her goal in 10 years?
“Hopefully I will be happy, doing music, and music will still be making me happy, and my music will be making other people happy,” she said.
In the not too distant past, she excelled at the Vancouver School of Arts and Academics, finding her love for opera.
“It meant so much to me. That’s where I grew my love for the arts and my appreciation for music, for theater, and for storytelling,” Daltoso said. “The students there are exposed to art all the time. It’s really formative. I was there all seven years. The teachers saw me grow and helped with that growth process.”
Today, Daltoso is a student at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma. She also made her professional opera debut last spring at Vashon Opera.
This summer, Daltoso has an opportunity to perform and study at the prestigious Chicago Summer Opera, a training program for young artists.
And, she is hoping that music lovers, art aficionados, family, and friends will help in her journey. Daltoso has a GoFundMe account set up to help with expenses. She is grateful to have received a partial scholarship to Chicago Summer Opera, but she is raising funds to offset all the other costs associated with attending the program.
“I set my goal at $2,000, thinking I would like to ask my family and friends and support system for some help,” Daltoso said. “I’ve been blown away from people who have responded.”
As of this week, she has raised more than $1,200, 60 percent of her goal.
Daltoso started singing in her church choir when she was in the second grade. She found opera her sophomore year of high school. She was inspired by voice teacher Laura Beckel Thoreson.
“Something just clicked,” Daltoso said of opera. “This is the style I feel most natural in. I just fell in love with the music and the storytelling.”
At Chicago Summer Opera, Daltoso has been cast as Goffredo in the production of Handel’s “Rinaldo.”
A story of love, war, and redemption, “Rinaldo” follows historical figures but has elements of the fantastic — evil sorceresses, sirens, and magicians, Daltoso explained on the GoFundMe page.
“I love the acting challenge of playing outside of my own experience, as well as the subversion of gender-norms that happens when a woman gets to play the crusader general,” Daltoso noted.
Before heading to Chicago, Daltoso will be finishing her senior year at PLU, while studying abroad in an exchange program. She leaves for Vienna this weekend.
To donate to Isabella Daltoso’s fundraiser, go to her GoFundMe page at: https://gf.me/v/c/wxj6/help-isabella-sing-at-chicago-summer-opera
Also read:
- Keeping afloat: A bittersweet chronicle of two women who endured the sinking of the Titanic
Local historian Peri Muchich shares the story of Pacific Northwest Titanic survivor Anna Warren at Sunday’s museum event. - Obituary for Lucille ‘Erma’ Christenson Madore – April 22,1924-March 13, 2026
Known for her love of music and family, Lucille ‘Erma’ Christenson Madore lived through nearly 102 years and leaves a large, grateful legacy in Vancouver. - Vancouver Fire Department honors firefighters, community members at annual awards ceremony
Acts of bravery, including river rescues and life-saving interventions by both residents and first responders, were recognized at the Vancouver Fire Department’s annual awards ceremony. - Gallery 408 announces four new artists
Amy Drews, Doug Kabel, Gesine Kratzner, and Levent Karayalım bring new artistic perspectives to Gallery 408, spanning expressive painting, whimsical sculpture, and mixed-media innovation. - 60th Annual Hazel Dell Parade of Bands returns this May
Twelve retired local band directors will be featured as Grand Marshals when the Hazel Dell Parade of Bands celebrates its 60th year with 120 entries and thousands of spectators.
