Laquita Mitchell
Please give some attention to the rising soprano Laquita Mitchell
John Malveaux
Soprano Laquita Mitchell consistently earns
acclaim in eminent opera companies throughout North America and Europe.
Already in her young career, she has led performances with the Los
Angeles Opera, San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Lyric Opera of
Chicago, New York City Opera, Washington National Opera, Opéra Comique
in Paris, among many others.
In her compelling debut as Bess in Porgy and Bess with the San Francisco Opera, Opera News said “Soprano Laquita Mitchell, in her first outing as Bess, dazzled the SFO [San Francisco Opera] audience with her purity of tone and vivid theatrical presence.” She has since reprised the role with New Jersey State Opera, the Atlanta Opera; Madison Symphony, the Boston Symphony Orchestra (at both Tanglewood and Symphony Hall), and will do so again in the Robert Russell Bennett Porgy and Bess Suite with the Cleveland Orchestra.
Hailed in the New York Times for her portrayal of Violetta in Verdi’s “La Traviata” in New York City Opera’s 2012 season opener said “Ms. Mitchell’s voice is rich, shimmering and sizable, her singing was tender and expressive”. Other notable appearances include Micaela in Carmen at the New York City Opera; Leonora in Il trovatore in South Carolina as well as with Nashville Opera; the role of Sharon in Terrance McNally’s Master Class at the Kennedy Center; Musetta in La bohème in a return to the Los Angeles Opera; Mimì in La bohème with Cincinnati Opera and at the Utah Symphony and Opera; Donna Anna in Don Giovanni with Florentine Opera, Portland Opera; and Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni with Opera New Jersey.
Also active as a concert artist, Ms. Mitchell most recently performed Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 with the Louisville Orchestra, the world premiere of Steven Stucky’s August 4, 1964 with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, her Boston Symphony Orchestra debut as the soprano soloist in Wynton Marsalis’ All Rise, and the soprano solo in Tippett’s A Child of our Time with the Washington Chorus at Kennedy Center. She has also performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony, the Princeton Symphony Orchestra, the New York Symphonic Ensemble at Alice Tully Hall, with Branford Marsalis and the Garden State Philharmonic, and with the New York Festival of Song “Salute to Arlen” concert at Carnegie Hall. Ms. Mitchell also made her African debut in Zimbabwe, Africa, where she performed in concert and recital for the HIFA Arts festival.
Laquita Mitchell was a 2004 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Grand Prize Winner, and was awarded a 2004 Sara Tucker Award. She was also the First Prize Winner of the Wiener Kammer Oper’s 2003 Hans Gabor Belvedere Competition, and the First Prize Winner of the Houston Grand Opera Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers, as well as the winner of the Audience Choice award. Ms. Mitchell is an alumna of the San Francisco Opera’s Merola Program and the Houston Grand Opera Studio. She completed her Master’s and the Professional Studies Certificate at the Manhattan School of Music, and completed her Bachelor’s at Westminster Choir College.
In her compelling debut as Bess in Porgy and Bess with the San Francisco Opera, Opera News said “Soprano Laquita Mitchell, in her first outing as Bess, dazzled the SFO [San Francisco Opera] audience with her purity of tone and vivid theatrical presence.” She has since reprised the role with New Jersey State Opera, the Atlanta Opera; Madison Symphony, the Boston Symphony Orchestra (at both Tanglewood and Symphony Hall), and will do so again in the Robert Russell Bennett Porgy and Bess Suite with the Cleveland Orchestra.
Hailed in the New York Times for her portrayal of Violetta in Verdi’s “La Traviata” in New York City Opera’s 2012 season opener said “Ms. Mitchell’s voice is rich, shimmering and sizable, her singing was tender and expressive”. Other notable appearances include Micaela in Carmen at the New York City Opera; Leonora in Il trovatore in South Carolina as well as with Nashville Opera; the role of Sharon in Terrance McNally’s Master Class at the Kennedy Center; Musetta in La bohème in a return to the Los Angeles Opera; Mimì in La bohème with Cincinnati Opera and at the Utah Symphony and Opera; Donna Anna in Don Giovanni with Florentine Opera, Portland Opera; and Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni with Opera New Jersey.
Also active as a concert artist, Ms. Mitchell most recently performed Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 with the Louisville Orchestra, the world premiere of Steven Stucky’s August 4, 1964 with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, her Boston Symphony Orchestra debut as the soprano soloist in Wynton Marsalis’ All Rise, and the soprano solo in Tippett’s A Child of our Time with the Washington Chorus at Kennedy Center. She has also performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony, the Princeton Symphony Orchestra, the New York Symphonic Ensemble at Alice Tully Hall, with Branford Marsalis and the Garden State Philharmonic, and with the New York Festival of Song “Salute to Arlen” concert at Carnegie Hall. Ms. Mitchell also made her African debut in Zimbabwe, Africa, where she performed in concert and recital for the HIFA Arts festival.
Laquita Mitchell was a 2004 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Grand Prize Winner, and was awarded a 2004 Sara Tucker Award. She was also the First Prize Winner of the Wiener Kammer Oper’s 2003 Hans Gabor Belvedere Competition, and the First Prize Winner of the Houston Grand Opera Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers, as well as the winner of the Audience Choice award. Ms. Mitchell is an alumna of the San Francisco Opera’s Merola Program and the Houston Grand Opera Studio. She completed her Master’s and the Professional Studies Certificate at the Manhattan School of Music, and completed her Bachelor’s at Westminster Choir College.
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