Sergio Mims: Interview with Mezzo-Soprano Zoie Reams on WHPK Chicago Tuesday March 12

Zoie Reams

Sergio A. Mims writes:

On my weekly classical music show on Tuesday March 12 I will broadcast an interview with Chicago born mezzo-soprano Zoie Reams who is making her Lyric Opera of Chicago debut in the role of Flora in their current production of Verdi's La Traviata

In the 2018-19 season, Ms. Reams will make her opera debut at Lyric Opera of Chicago, singing Flora in La Traviata, as well as Suzuki in Madama Butterfly at Opera Columbus.  She will be singing the title role in Opera Louisiane’s production of Carmen. She will be making her company and role debut as Marget in Des Moines Metro Opera’s production of Wozzeck. On the symphonic front, Ms. Reams will be performing Bernstein’s First Symphony, Jeremiah, with the Staatstheatre Cottbus Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as Handel’s Messiah with the Auburn University Orchestra and the New Choral Society of Scarsdale, New York.

In the 2017-2018 season, Ms. Reams sang Maddalena in Rigoletto at Wolf Trap Opera, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the National Symphony Orchestra, and Handel’s Messiah with the Las Vegas Philharmonic. Zoie completed her studies with the Houston Grand Opera studio, where she sang Flora in La traviata, Dritte Magd in Elektra, and Rosalia in West Side Story, amongst many others.

Prior highlights at Houston Grand Opera include the Third Secretary in John Adams’s Nixon in China, the Alto Winged Angel in the world premiere of Jake Heggie’s It’s A Wonderful Life, and the world premiere of Kaminsky’s Some Light Emerges. Ms. Reams has also performed as Clarice in La pietra del paragone with Wolf Trap Opera, Tituba in Ward’s The Crucible with the Glimmerglass Festival, the Sandmännchen in Hänsel und Gretel with Opera Louisiane, and on the concert stage, Bruckner’s Te Deum with the Houston Symphony Orchestra. Her awards include second place at Houston Grand Opera’s Eleanor McCollum Competition (2016), first place winner of the Emerging Artist division of the Classical Singer Competition (2015), and second place winner of the Gulf Coast Region of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions (2016).  She holds a Master of Music degree from Louisiana State University, where she sang Isabella in L’italiana in Algeri, Dido in Dido and Aeneas, Katisha in The Mikado, and Béatrice in Béatrice et Bénédict.  She earned her Bachelor of Music at Lawrence University.

The show will also include Hector Berlioz' Harold En Italie and Te Deum in the first in series of programs throughout the year commemorating 150th anniversary of the death of the composer

The show can be heard from 12-3PM (CST) and  locally on 88.5 FM and worldwide livestream on whpk - home