Biography

Mezzo-soprano Erika Person is a versatile singing actress, recognized for her sensitive singing and captivating stage presence. Her repertoire includes Adalgisa (Norma), Suzuki (Madama Butterfly), Hansel (Hansel and Gretel), Mercedes (Carmen), Mrs. McLean (Susannah), Maddalena (Rigoletto), the Mother (Amahl and the Night Visitors), Stéphano (Roméo et Juliette), Zulma (L’italiana in Algeri) and the Second and Third Ladies in The Magic Flute. In 2006, she debuted at Carnegie Hall with the Opera Orchestra of New York (under the baton of Maestro Eve Queler, in Montemezzi’s L’amore dei tre re, in a cast featuring Samuel Ramey). She has also appeared with Annapolis Opera, Opera Delaware, Indianapolis Opera, Tri-Cities Opera, and Spoleto USA in Charleston, SC. As a young artist, she appeared with Lake George Opera as Mercedes and at Dicapo Opera Theatre as Flora Bervoix (La traviata), Meg Page (Falstaff, student matinee), Kate Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly, La Scala and Brescia versions), and in the parody Opera Senza Rancor.

An ardent proponent of musical works in English, especially the operettas of Gilbert & Sullivan, Ms. Person has regularly been featured with the New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players (NYGASP) since her 2004 City Center debut in the title role of Iolanthe. In 2010 she performed the roles of Dame Hannah in Ruddigore and Lady Sophy in Utopia, Limited to critical acclaim, and returned to Annapolis Opera for a concert of operetta and light opera favorites. Other roles with NYGASP include Pitti-Sing in The Mikado, Tessa in The Gondoliers, Phoebe in The Yeomen of the Guard, Ruth and Edith in The Pirates of Penzance (including performances with Hal Linden as Major-General Stanley), and Cousin Hebe in H.M.S. Pinafore. With NYGASP, she has sung at such distinguished venues as Wolf Trap, Toledo's Valentine Theater, Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis, The Shubert Theater in New Haven, Overture Hall in Madison, Wisconsin, The Cerritos Center in California, and certainly not least of all, the exquisite Opera House in Buxton, England. Other favorite crossover roles include Lalume (Kismet), Sarah Brown (Guys & Dolls), Lady Thiang (The King & I), and Martha Jefferson (1776).

Oratorio and concert repertoire includes Brahms’ Alto Rhapsody, Handel’s Messiah, Mozart’s Requiem, Rossini’s Stabat Mater, John Harbison’s Mirabai Songs, Les Nuits d’Été by Berlioz, Sechs Lieder by Grieg, and The Songs of Abelard by Norman dello Joio, plus premieres of Mein Lebenslauf by Georg Schönberg and I Should Be Speechless by Carlos Castañedas, Jr. Erika has appeared in concert with Lake George Opera, Annapolis Opera, Salt Marsh Opera, the Oratorio Society of Queens, at the Austrian Cultural Form, and the New York City Center and Symphony Space.