Artist Spotlight: David Sabella

David Sabella is a Broadway veteran, international opera singer, award-winning cabaret artist, and master voice teacher with a career spanning over 45 years. Best known for originating the role of Mary Sunshine in the 1996 revival of Chicago, Sabella performed alongside legends like Bebe Neuwirth, Ann Reinking, Joel Grey, and Chita Rivera. He also toured extensively with the show and helped shape its enduring legacy.

As a classically trained countertenor, Sabella earned global acclaim after winning the Luciano Pavarotti International Voice Competition, where Pavarotti famously stopped his audition midway to declare, “Excellent, not good—excellent!” His operatic credits include roles in Giulio Cesare, Die Fledermaus, and L’incoronazione di Poppea, with performances at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, and opera houses across the U.S. and Europe.

Sabella is also a two-time MAC Award winner and a Fresh Fruit Festival “Outstanding Lead Actor” recipient for his Off-Broadway work. He is the co-author of So You Want to Sing Cabaret and a featured pedagogue in So You Want to Sing CCM, widely regarded as foundational texts for modern vocal performance.

Now based in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, Sabella has served as the General Manager and Entertainment Director at Act2PV Theater. Under his leadership, Act2PV welcomed Broadway stars such as Lillias White, Karen Mason, and Brent Barrett, as well as award-winning cabaret artists from around the world.

Sabella is also the founder and CEO of Sabella Vox International, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the education and development of artists across the U.S., Latin America, and Europe. Through this work, he co-produces Fiesta de Cabaret, a 10-day international cabaret symposium that brings together aspiring performers from Mexico, Canada, and the U.S. to study and perform alongside renowned artists.

Deeply committed to fostering young Mexican talent, Sabella continues to teach, mentor, and produce in his new home of Puerto Vallarta. As he puts it: “Vallarta is a world-class city and deserves world-class entertainment.”