Virginia Mims

A native of West Palm Beach, Florida, American soprano Virginia Mims returns to Sarasota Opera for the 2025–26 season, reprising her acclaimed portrayal of Musetta in La Bohème for twelve performances and making her role debut as Despina in Così fan tutte for five performances. In the summer of 2025, she joined the Aspen Music Festival as a Renée Fleming Artist, performing Musetta (La Bohème) alongside renowned tenor Matthew Polenzani, and covering Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte) in Mrs. Fleming’s directorial debut. During the 2024–25 season, she made her Carnegie Hall debut as soprano soloist in Taylor Scott Davis’ Magnificat with the New England Symphonic Ensemble, and appeared as a guest artist for the Sarasota Orchestra’s Verdi Gala, performing selections as Gilda (Rigoletto) and Violetta (La Traviata). Additional role credits include Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro) and Rowan (The Little Sweep) with Sarasota Opera; Mimì (La Bohème) at the Sachsenwald Forum in Reinbek, Germany; Musetta (La Bohème), Cleopatra (Giulio Cesare), Mary Bailey (It’s a Wonderful Life by Heggie), and Blumenmädchen (Parsifal) with Indiana University Opera Theater; Susanna with Brevard Music Center; and Zemfira (Aleko) with Carol Vaness’ Opera Workshop. In 2023, she was selected for the prestigious International Meistersinger Akademie, where she performed scenes as Manon, Donna Anna (Don Giovanni), and Violetta (La Traviata). Mims holds both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Music from Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music. She has received awards from the Jensen Foundation, NATS Artist Awards, Luminarts Cultural Foundation, Schmidt Vocal Foundation, National Society of Arts and Letters, and the YoungArts Foundation.