___________________________________________________

Kara Cornell, Mezzo-soprano                            

Biography

 

 

Home    Biography    Resume    Engagements    Sounds    Photos    Reviews    Contact

 

 

Opera and musical theater

 

Mezzo-soprano Kara Cornell is an

operatically trained cross-over

artist who is known for her rich, easily

produced voice and engaging dramatics.

Her expressive portrayal of roles has

hailed her “a consummate actress” and a

singer with “an infectious enthusiasm”,

with roles ranging from a “totally

endearing” Cinderella in Into the Woods

 to a “seductive, wounded, damaged and

dangerous” Carmen.

                                       

Recent operatic roles include “Cherubino” in

Le nozze di Figaro, “Dorabella” in Cosi fan

tutte, “Rosina” in Il barbiere di Siviglia,

and the title roles in Carmen,

Hansel and Gretel and Orfeo e Euridice.

 

 

Musical theater roles include “Cinderella” in Into the Woods, “Catherine” in

Pippin, “Petra” in A Little Night Music, “Beth” in Merrily We Roll Along”,

and “Eliza Doolittle” in My Fair Lady. Many of her roles have been performed

with full orchestra.

 

Kara has been featured in staged productions with numerous professional companies. Most recently she has performed leading roles with Union Avenue

Opera in St. Louis, Opera Theater of Pittsburgh, St. Petersburg Opera in

Florida, Center City Opera in Philadelphia, and in New York with Mosaic-Arts, Capital Opera, Northport Opera, Smithtown Center for the Performing Arts,  

Hubbard Hall, Stony Brook

Opera, Musaic Concert Series and Metropolis Opera.

 

(Kara as “Cinderella” in Into the Woods and as “Cinderella’s evil step-sister” in La Cenerentola.)

 

 

Contemporary Music

 

Kara’s passion for contemporary music has led her to exciting new projects! Kara enjoys collaborating with composers, and has sung numerous world premiere operas, musicals, songs and orchestra pieces. Most recently Kara sang as soloist in the premiere and subsequent recording of Nancy Galbraith’s Sacred Songs and Interludes with the Pittsburgh Camerata. She has collaborated with Jane Leslie and performed many of her songs through the Northport Arts Coalition’s Emily Dickinson Celebration and also The Long Island Fringe Festival at The Tilles Center. In the summer of 2010 Kara premiered the role of “Sara” in Kristin Hevner’s electronica opera Wednesday Before Last with Musaic Concert Series in New York City. Additional contemporary operatic roles include “Miss Jessel” in Turn of the Screw by Benjamin Britten, “May” in Footfalls by Earl Kim and “Jo” in Little Women by Mark Adamo. Kara has also recorded songs for Tim Prepscius and will be performing new

music at the Art Song Festival in Albany in 2011 and is planning a

collaboration with Evan Mack in 2012. 

 

 

Jazz and Pop

 

One of the reasons Kara considers herself a crossover artist is because she not only performs in musicals, but also jazz and pop. Kara’s 94 year old Grandfather is a jazz pianist, and his love of all things jazz has led her to often perform works by George Gershwin, Cole Porter and Hoagy Carmichael with experts in the field, including pianist Lincoln Mayorga.

 

Kara is also a member of the new group Bella Diva, a diverse trio performing in the operatic pop genre. 

 

Bella Diva on myspace

 

(Photos courtesy of Peter Sanchirico

And Bella Diva Trio)

 

 

Oratorio and Sacred Music

 

Kara enjoys performing oratorio and sacred works. She has performed the alto solos in many fully-orchestrated oratorios, including Handel’s Messiah, Judas Maccabaeus, Samson and The Utrecht Te Deum, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Honegger’s King David,  and Bach’s Christmas Oratorio and St. John’s Passion. Kara has had the privilege to work most notably with The United States Naval Academy, The Pittsburgh Camerata, Aoede Music Consort, Williamstown Early Music, The Brooklyn Philharmonic, Burnt Hills Oratorio Society, Albany Pro Musica and The Falmouth Chorale. Kara also sings sacred music as church soloist at The Christian Science Church in Delmar, NY.

 

 

Education

 

A graduate of Smithtown High School (New York), Kara earned her bachelors degree, with college and university honors, from Carnegie Mellon University. She earned her masters degree from Stony Brook University. Both degrees are in vocal and music performance.

(Orfeo ed Euridice with Mosaic-Arts, 2011)

 

 

Awards

 

Kara has won several vocal awards, including “The Phyllis Bryn-Julson Award” through the Civic Morning Musicals Competition, and the 5 Towns Scholarship Competition Award. During college, Kara was awarded the “Award and Scholarship for Vocal Excellence” three years in a row. In 2009 and 2010, Kara received a “strategic opportunity stipend” through the New York Foundation for the Arts for the purpose of opera role study. In March 2010 Kara was a semi-finalist in the Amato Competition in New York City, and was also awarded the Grand Prize in the Mendelssohn Club of Albany vocal competition. In 2011 Kara competed as a finalist in the American Traditions Competition in Savannah, Georgia.

 

 

Teaching

 

In addition to performing, Kara is a proud voice

instructor. She has been an adjunct professor of voice

in the musical theater department at Russell Sage

College since 2007 and in 2011 joined the adjunct

faculty at The Emma Willard School. Kara also

teaches privately from her home in Albany County,

NY, and is often hired to lead masterclasses in vocal

and dramatic coaching. Kara’s philosophy in her

studio is that singers need to eradicate tension in the

mind and body in order to allow for free and organic

vocal production. She teaches her students to be

well-rounded, as she is, so they can perform most or

all types of music without strain. Kara also works

with students on managing stage fright.

 

 

Hobbies

 

If you can believe it, Kara was not

particularly interested in singing until she was

15 years old. As a painfully shy and sensitive

child, Kara spent much of her time alone her with

pets and arts-and-crafts. She also felt a strong

pull to help others. Though singing has become

her biggest passion in life, Kara continues to

foster life-long hobbies. She enjoys making

jewelry and crocheting hats and scarves for Little

Flower Children’s Services. In 2005 she and her

now husband walked 40 miles in The Avon Walk

for Breast Cancer and raised over $6,000.

 

 

Jokingly known as the “cat whisperer” at a NY animal shelter, Kara domesticated over 30 feral cats who were then adopted by loving families, and is also a member and supporter of Alley Cat Allies. Kara feels strongly about supporting the local blood bank and donates platelets and blood to the New York Blood Center every 2-3 months. As a certified Reiki Master, Kara does healing work on human and

animal clients, and also teaches Reiki certification classes. Most recently

she has become a “big sister” through Big Brothers Big Sisters. 

 

 

 

Official site of mezzo-soprano Kara Cornell. All rights reserved.