MARCH 2011: TAMARA WILSON

 By Tutto Opera Team

“With a voice of steely beauty and great power,” (Houston Chronicle) soprano Tamara Wilson was recently the grand prize winner of the 48th Annual Francisco Viñas Competition held at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, Spain.

Ms. Wilson began the 2010 – 2011 season as Amelia in 'Un ballo in maschera' to open the season at Washington National Opera and will repeat performances of this Verdi heroine at Teatre Principal de Maó in Menorca, Spain. “A bona fide Verdi soprano,” Ms. Wilson recently sang Alice Ford in 'Falstaff' for her debut with Washington National Opera, made her Canadian Opera Company debut as Amelia Grimaldi in 'Simon Boccanegra' and debuted at Opera Australia as Aida. Ms. Wilson gained international attention in the 2007 – 2008 season for her role debut as Amelia in 'Un ballo in maschera' at Houston Grand Opera, having just finished as a member of the Houston Grand Opera Studio. She was also a featured soloist at the 2010 NEA Opera Honors in which she sang “Ernani, involami” from Verdi’s 'Ernani' to honor recipient Martina Arroyo.

Also this season, Ms. Wilson will return to the Los Angeles Opera for performances of Miss Jessel in Britten’s 'The Turn of the Screw' under James Conlon, a role she sang last season to great acclaim at Houston Grand Opera. In addition, she will make her German debut at Oper Frankfurt in concert performances of Wagner’s early opera 'Die Feen' as Ada under Sebastian Weigle, which will be recorded by Oehms Classics for commercial release.

Ms. Wilson returned to the Canadian Opera Company in the spring of 2010 as Elettra in 'Idomeneo' conducted by Harry Bicket. She made her Los Angeles Opera debut as the First Lady in 'Die Zauberflöte' with James Conlon conducting. Other Mozart heroines include Konstanze in 'Die Entführung aus dem Serail' at Houston Grand Opera showing “excellent control of her considerable power as well as good coloratura and range” (Houston Chronicle) and the Countess Almaviva in Berkshire Opera’s production of 'Le nozze di Figaro'.

Recently, she was soprano soloist for performances of Beethoven’s 'Missa solemnis' with John Nelson and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe in Lisbon, which is available on DVD and was heard in Verdi’s 'Messa da requiem' with Helmuth Rilling at the Oregon Bach Festival for the opening of their 40th Anniversary season. This season, she will sing Mozart’s Requiem with Edo de Waart and the Milwaukee Symphony, Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 2 (“Lobgesang”) with the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra, return to the Oregon Bach Festival, and tour Japan with Helmuth Rilling and Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. Future seasons will see her at the Canadian Opera Company, Théâtre du Capitole in Toulouse, Oper Frankfurt, Washington National Opera, Teatro Municipal de Santiago in Chile, Teatro Real de Madrid, Gran Teatre del Liceu and Houston Grand Opera.

As a member of the Houston Grand Opera Studio, she was previously seen as the High Priestess in 'Aida', the Innkeeper’s Wife in 'The Cunning Little Vixen', and the Countess Almaviva in 'Le nozze di Figaro'. In June 2007, Ms. Wilson received acclaim for her performance of Fiordiligi in 'Così fan tutte' with Aspen Opera Theater. Also in the 2006 – 2007 season, she made her debut with the Houston Ballet performing Stravinsky’s 'Les Noces', as well as the role of Bubikopf in a production of Viktor Ullmann's 'Der Kaiser von Atlantis' conducted by James Conlon. Other appearances include Rossini’s 'Petite messe solennelle' with the Choral Arts Society in Austin, Texas.

Ms. Wilson’s awards include the George London Award from the George London Foundation in which she was hailed for a “striking timbre all her own” (Opera News) and a study grant from the Richard Tucker Music Foundation. Other notable awards include first place in the 2005 Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers in Houston and finalist in the 2004 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, among others. In addition to her operatic and orchestral performances, Ms. Wilson is an avid lecturer of vocal technique. Ms. Wilson received her degree at the University of Cincinnati-College Conservatory of Music (CCM).
For more information: Tamara Wilson web site
Spanish Version