Rodrigues, CarlaMaria

Principal Viola

Carla-Maria Rodrigues has served as Principal Viola of the San Francisco Opera since 1996. A native of London and a certified IIN Health Coach, her career is defined by a rare versatility that spans the world's most prestigious concert halls, orchestra stages, and chamber music halls. Her professional trajectory began at age 23 when she won her first audition with the Minnesota Orchestra, later rising to Assistant Principal and Acting Principal. A hallmark of her tenure there was her performance as featured soloist in Strauss's Don Quixote alongside Yo-Yo Ma and David Zinman, recorded live for Minnesota Public Radio. Her leadership has since been sought after internationally: she has served as Principal Viola of the Australian Chamber Orchestra and has been invited as Guest Principal Viola for the Chamber Orchestra of Europe (under Nikolaus Harnoncourt and Sir András Schiff) and the Hong Kong Philharmonic (under Edo de Waart).

As an acclaimed chamber musician, Ms. Rodrigues has collaborated with many of the defining artists of our time, including Sir Yehudi Menuhin, Rudolph Serkin, Pinchas Zukerman, Manachem Pressler, Hepzibah Menuhin, Daniel Hope, and Ann Sofie von Otter. She has toured Europe, South America, Israel, and Australia as a member of the Zukerman and Friends' Ensemble and has been a frequent guest at major festivals, including Marlboro, Santa Fe, Gstaad, IMS Prussia Cove, Tanglewood, Savannah, and the Schleswig-Holstein Festival. 

Deeply committed to the next generation of artists, Ms. Rodrigues is a prolific educator. She has served as Adjunct Professor of Viola at UCLA and as a guest faculty member for the National Youth Orchestra (NYO-USA), the Aspen Music Festival, and the Tanglewood Music Center. She has been a regular guest teacher at the Jerusalem Music Center, coaching the Young Israeli Philharmonic, and has held a long association with the Mehli Mehta Music Foundation in Mumbai, where she has mentored teachers and helped established music education programs for children. Following a 2024 sabbatical dedicated to volunteer work in Asia, in 2025, she returned to the stage and classroom, including teaching residencies at the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) and the Elder Conservatorium of Music at the University of Adelaide and an International tour of China with Daniel Hope and the Gstaad Festival Orchestra.