BIOGRAPHY

“For sweetness of tone, ERIKA PERSON in the title role…held the spotlight firmly.” (The New York Times, Jan.14, 2004)

Recognized for her operatic and theatrical versatility and charismatic presence, mezzo-soprano ERIKA PERSON debuted as Adalgisa in Bellini’s Norma with the Delaware Valley Opera Company. “Person…pleads her character's case with elegance of tone and poignancy of feeling.” (Times Herald Record, July 31, 2007). Other recent engagements include solo debuts at Carnegie Hall with the Opera Orchestra of New York (Montemezzi’s L’Amore dei Tre Re), Opera Delaware as Mercedes (Carmen), Lake George Opera as Zulma (L’Italiana in Algeri), and American Lyric Theater in its workshop of The Golden Ticket by Peter Ash. She has appeared at Dicapo Opera Theatre as Flora Bervoix (La Traviata), the Third Lady (The Magic Flute), Kate Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly, La Scala and Brescia versions), in the parody, Opera Senza Rancor, and as Meg Page (Falstaff). Other career highlights include Mrs. McLean (Susannah) for Indianapolis Opera, the Mother (Amahl and the Night Visitors) and Lalume (Kismet) for Tri-Cities Opera, and La Ciesca (Gianni Schicchi) with A Singing Actor’s Studio.

Since her 2004 debut in the title role of Iolanthe, Erika has regularly been featured with the New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players (NYGASP). Other roles are Phoebe (The Yeomen of the Guard), Pitti-Sing (The Mikado), Edith (The Pirates of Penzance), and Cousin Hebe (H.M.S. Pinafore). Other favorite crossover roles include Sarah Brown (Guys & Dolls) and Martha Jefferson (1776).

Oratorio, recital, and concert repertoire include Brahms’ Alto Rhapsody, Rossini’s Stabat Mater, Handel’s Messiah, John Harbison’s Mirabai Songs, Les Nuits d’Été by Berlioz, and The Songs of Abelard by Norman dello Joio, plus premieres of Mein Lebenslauf by Georg Schönberg and I Should Be Speechless by Carlos Castanedas, Jr.

Ms. Person will appear in a feature-length documentary entitled “Sing*ularity” directed by Brad Mays. She has apprenticed with Lake George Opera, Indianapolis Opera, Tri-Cities Opera, and Dicapo Opera Theatre, and holds degrees from Binghamton University and from the University of Redlands in her native California.

Upcoming engagements include a Gala Concert for Lake George Opera at Saratoga, featuring works of Gilbert & Sullivan, in November, 2007, and her debut with Annapolis Opera as Mercedes in Carmen in March, 2008.