Young mezzo-soprano Deanna Ray Eberhart is a highly versatile musician from Kansas City, Missouri with a “warm and indulgent presence” onstage (KC Studio) and “considerable élan” (S. Fairbank). In the summer of 2025, Deanna made her Santa Fe Opera debut as Rossweisse in the company premiere of Wagner’s Die Walküre and was given an Outstanding First-Year Apprentice award. She will return to Santa Fe in 2026 to perform as Second Lady in The Magic Flute and Dagmar in the North American premiere of Tobias Picker’s Lili Elbe.

Prior to her work with Santa Fe, Deanna was an Apprentice Artist with the Lyric Opera of Kansas City from 2022-2024. There, she performed as Gertrude in Roméo et Juliette and Flosshilde in Journey to Valhalla, a compendium of Wagner’s Ring Cycle created by American conductor Michael Christie. She also sang as a chorister in eight other LOKC productions during her training there, including the GRAMMY nominated recording of The Shining by Mark Campbell and Paul Moravec, based on the best-selling novel by Stephen King.

In 2026, Deanna was the winner of the Kansas City District of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, a semi-finalist for the Houston Grand Opera Eleanor McCollum Competition, and a finalist for the Dallas Opera Competition. She holds a double MM degree in Voice Performance and Church Music from the University of Kansas and a Bachelor of Arts in Music from the University of Northern Iowa. She has studied with Dr. Jean McDonald, Joyce Castle, and Nova Thomas. Other role credits include La Zia Principessa in Puccini’s Suor Angelica, Little Buttercup in Gilbert and Sullivan’s H.M.S. Pinafore, Alidora in a gender-bent production of Rossini’s La Cenerentola, and Arsamene in Händel’s Serse.

In addition to her work as a classical singer, Deanna is a singer-songwriter and guitarist under the name Deanna Ray. Her original music has been compared to the work of Joni Mitchell. Deanna released her first album at the young age of fifteen. After many years of study in the classical tradition, she released her sophomore album, Green, in October of 2024. Green was recorded at Glass House Studio in Nashville, TN and marked the beginning of her artistic partnership with guitarist and producer Matthew Clinkenbeard. Their next project, Little Things, marks her first foray into the progressive folk genre. Rife with hooky guitar parts, direct lyricism, and mixed-meter forms, the album offers listeners a rich soundscape that playfully betrays her classical background and newer jazz-folk influences. Her latest single from the project, Broadway Bridge, is available on all streaming platforms.