Tamara Wilson is an American operatic soprano who has had an active international opera career since 2007. She has performed leading roles at the Canadian Opera Company, the English National Opera, the Houston Grand Opera, the Liceu, the Metropolitan Opera, and the Sydney Opera House among others. She is particularly known for her performances of heroines in the operas of Giuseppe Verdi. In 2016 she was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Opera and was awarded the Richard Tucker Award, an award described by Opera News as "one of the most prestigious prizes in opera".[1][2]

Early life and education

Born in Arizona, Wilson grew up in the Chicago area. Her mother is a retired choir director and accompanist and her father has a career in the railroad industry.[3][4][5] She earned a Bachelor of Music degree in vocal performance from the University of Cincinnati – College-Conservatory of Music in 2004 where she was a pupil of soprano Barbara Honn.[6] That same year she was a finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions; a competition she entered on a whim without any serious intent in pursuing an opera career.[5][7] Her performance in the Met finals drew the attention of Diane Zola, the then General Manager at the Houston Grand Opera (HGO), and she subsequently joined the Young Artist Program at the HGO in 2005.[6]

Career

Wilson's big break came in 2007 when she made her opera debut replacing Patricia Racette for the entire run of the HGO's opening production of the 2007–2008 season as Amelia in Verdi's Un ballo in maschera to critical success.[6][5] She has since returned to the HGO stage as two more Verdi heroines; Elisabetta in Don Carlos (2012) and Leonora in Il trovatore (2013). In 2008 she portrayed Countess Almaviva in The Marriage of Figaro with the Berkshire Opera Company and was awarded a Sara Tucker Study Grant from the Richard Tucker Music Foundation.[8][5] She was later a recipient of the Richard Tucker Career Grant in 2011.[5]

In 2009 Wilson portrayed the title role in Verdi's Aida at the Sydney Opera House for Opera Australia; the first of many performances of that role.[3] Later that year she portrayed Alice Ford in Falstaff for her debut at the Washington National Opera; returning to the WNO in 2010 as Amelia.[9][10] She also appeared at the Canadian Opera Company (COC) in 2009–2010 as Amelia Grimaldi in Verdi's Simon Boccanegra, and as Elettra in Mozart's Idomeneo.[11]

In 2011 Wilson made her debut at Carnegie Hall singing the role of the Virgin Mary in Honegger’s Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher with conductor Marin Alsop leading the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and made her debut at the Los Angeles Opera as Miss Jessel in Britten's The Turn of the Screw.[12][13] That same year she made her European debut as Ada in Wagner's Die Feen at the Opern- und Schauspielhaus Frankfurt and performed Aida for her debut at the Municipal Theatre of Santiago. Her performance as Ada was recorded for the Oehms Classics label.[14]

In 2012 Wilson made her debut at the Théâtre du Capitole as Leonora, returned to the Canadian Opera Company as Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus, and made her debut at the Ravinia Festival as Elettra in Mozart's Idomeneo with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under conductor James Conlon.[15] She later returned to Ravinia in 2014 to perform the role of Donna Anna in Mozart's Don Giovanni.[16] In 2013 she returned to Carnegie Hall to perform the role of Malwina in Heinrich Marschner's Der Vampyr with the American Symphony Orchestra.[17]

In 2014 Wilson made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera as Aida.[18] In 2015 she made her debut at the English National Opera as Leonora in Verdi's La forza del destino; a performance which earned her an Olivier Award nomination.[19] Also that year she performed Aida at the Aspen Music Festival and the Teatro Principal de Palma de Mallorca.[20][21] She is scheduled to perform the role of Amelia at the Deutsche Oper Berlin in 2016 and the role of Elisabetta at the Bayerische Staatsoper in 2017.[22]

References

  1. ^ "Soprano Tamara Wilson Named as Winner of the 2016 Richard Tucker Award". Opera News. April 4, 2016. Archived from the original on April 8, 2016. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
  2. ^ Michael Cooper (April 4, 2016). "Tamara Wilson Wins 2016 Richard Tucker Award". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 19, 2018. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
  3. ^ a b "Walking in water but still singing pretty". The Sydney Morning Herald. July 7, 2009. Archived from the original on March 19, 2018. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
  4. ^ Amanda Angel (April 4, 2016). "Soprano Tamara Wilson Wins 2016 Richard Tucker Award". WQXR-FM. Archived from the original on May 22, 2020. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
  5. ^ a b c d e Steven Brown (November 21, 2014). "Tamara Wilson, the accidental soprano, to give benefit recital". Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on May 7, 2016. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
  6. ^ a b c Brian Kellow (2013). "Sound Bites: Tamara Wilson". Opera News. Archived from the original on 2016-04-10. Retrieved 2016-04-19.
  7. ^ Jeremy Eichler (March 23, 2004). "MUSIC REVIEW; Some Opera Stars of Tomorrow Vying for a Career Jump-Start". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 25, 2021. Retrieved June 24, 2023.
  8. ^ Elyse Sommer (August 2008). "A CurtainUp Berkshire Review; The Marriage of Figaro/Le nozze di Figaro". CurtainUp. Archived from the original on 2013-09-01. Retrieved 2016-04-19.
  9. ^ Anne Midgette (October 13, 2009). "Washington National Opera Performs Verdi's 'Falstaff'". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 19, 2018. Retrieved June 24, 2023.
  10. ^ Anne Midgette (September 13, 2010). "Washington National Opera's 'Un Ballo in Maschera'". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on February 22, 2017. Retrieved June 24, 2023.
  11. ^ Christopher Hoile (April 16, 2009). "Review: Simon Boccanegra". stage-door.com. Archived from the original on April 17, 2016. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
  12. ^ Vivien Schweitzer (November 21, 2011). "Joan of Arc Tells Her Story, and a Choral Force Replies". Archived from the original on March 30, 2019. Retrieved June 24, 2023.
  13. ^ "Opera review: Los Angeles Opera 'The Turn of the Screw'". Los Angeles Times. March 13, 2011. Archived from the original on May 7, 2016. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
  14. ^ David J. Baker (November 2013). "WAGNER: Die Feen". Opera News. Vol. 78, no. 5. Archived from the original on 2018-03-19. Retrieved 2016-04-19.
  15. ^ John Terauds (October 4, 2012). "Review: Christopher Alden puts bats in Canadian Opera Company Die Fledermaus belfry". Musical Toronto. Archived from the original on May 9, 2016. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
  16. ^ John von Rhein (April 3, 2016). "Lyric singers receive Tucker Foundation awards". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on April 20, 2016. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
  17. ^ Vivien Schweitzer (March 22, 2013). "186-Year-Old Vampire Haunts Carnegie Hall". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 5, 2021. Retrieved June 24, 2023.
  18. ^ Zachary Woolfe (December 30, 2014). "When Singing Verdi, Perfection Is No Substitute for Passion". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 20, 2022. Retrieved June 24, 2023.
  19. ^ Michael White (November 17, 2015). "Review: 'Force of Destiny' at the English National Opera". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 25, 2020. Retrieved June 24, 2023.
  20. ^ Andrew Travers (August 7, 2015). "Tamara Wilson stars in Aspen Music Fest's 'Aida'". The Aspen Times. Archived from the original on May 5, 2016. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
  21. ^ "Josep Bros y Tamara Wilson, las mejores voces". Diario de Mallorca. September 29, 2015. Archived from the original on May 6, 2016. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
  22. ^ "Tamara Wilson". operabase.com. Archived from the original on June 1, 2016. Retrieved April 26, 2016.

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