Anissa Clay Zelaya is a soprano currently located in Fairfax, Va. She will be pursuing her graduate degree in Voice Performance at George Mason University studying with Professor Patricia Miller. In May 2022, Anissa graduated with a BM in Voice Performance from Baldwin Wallace University, studying with Dr. JR Fralick. She performed Countess Almaviva in Baldwin Wallace University’s production of Le Nozze di Figaro in March 2022. 

Anissa performed Zelda ’18 in The Ghosts of Gatsby, a partnership with Baldwin Wallace and Cleveland Opera Theater as part of the National Opera Association (NOA) conference in January 2020. Anissa was an apprentice with Pittsburgh Festival Opera during the summer of 2020, performing Countess Almaviva in their young artist scenes program. She graduated from Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School in 2018. Mrs. Clay Zelaya has performed with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra as a member of the Junior Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh. Anissa was a high school apprentice with the Pittsburgh Opera, where she has performed in two mini-lecture recitals.

Anissa Clay Zelaya is the founder and owner of The Swole Soprano. In this business, Anissa combines her love of teaching, singing, and weightlifting to help singers grow in their vocal technique and their confidence. Anissa views the study of voice as a holistic endeavor, where to sing well is to have an understanding and control of one’s body, thoughts and spirit. For her students, she starts with the basics of body alignment and breath before a note is ever sung in a lesson. As Anissa’s student, one will learn about the whole body and how the body aids in vocal production, allowing them to see whatever they desire!