Sarah Mesko

Praised by The Washington Post for her ?consistently beautiful sound,? American mezzo-soprano Sarah Mesko is rapidly gaining attention for her ?rich mezzo soprano? voice and musicality. In the 2018-2019 season, Ms. Mesko returns to the Metropolitan Opera ? following her successful performance of Arsace in Semiramide ? to sing Merc d s in Carmen. She will also make her Canadian debut as Isolier in Le comte Ory with Edmonton Opera and her Opera Theatre of Saint Louis debut as Ottavia in The Coronation of Poppea. She will appear in Handel?s Messiah at the US Naval Academy and present recitals at the University of Arkansas and Hendrix College. Last season, Ms. Mesko was seen at the Metropolitan Opera as the Second Lady in Die Zauberfl te and Ines in Il trovatore while covering Le Prince Charmant in Cendrillon. She also made her New York Philharmonic debut, her Cincinnati Opera debut as Ottavia in Monteverdi?s L?incoronazione di Poppea, and her role debut as Jo in Little Women with Annapolis Opera. Sarah Mesko made her Metropolitan Opera debut as the Second Lady in The Magic Flute in the 2016-2017 season. She has also toured across the United States with the Metropolitan Opera Rising Stars concert tour. She recently made her role debut as Carmen with Washington National Opera in the Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist performance; other roles with Washington National Opera include Hansel in Hansel and Gretel, Dorabella in Cos fan tutte, Suzuki in Madama Butterfly, and the Second Lady in Die Zauberfl te. Ms. Mesko debuted at the Glimmerglass Festival in Vivaldi?s Catone in Utica to great acclaim and made her debut at Houston Grand Opera as Mrs. Segstrom in A Little Night Music. She made her European debut in Paris as La Sagesse and Sidonie in Lully?s Armide with Mercury Baroque and the Th atre de Gennevilliers. On the concert stage, Sarah Mesko has appeared with the National Symphony Orchestra under Tito Mu oz; as Dejanira in Handel?s Hercules with the Oregon Bach Festival; with the Columbus Symphony in Alexander Nevsky; with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra under Marin Alsop; and with Mercury Baroque in Houston. Ms. Mesko has made recital appearances with the Dallas Opera at the Dallas Museum of Art; with tenor Paul Appleby for the George London Foundation at the Morgan Library in New York City; with the Dolce Suono Ensemble; with Vocal Arts DC, presenting Jan cek?s Diary of One Who Disappeared with tenor Toby Spence; and with San Francisco Opera Center?s Schwabacher Debut Recital Series. In 2009 Ms. Mesko was a national finalist of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, performing with the Met Orchestra under Patrick Summers. She has won First Prizes in various competitions, including those sponsored by the George London Foundation, the National Society of Arts and Letters, Annapolis Opera, Virginia Opera, Young Texas Artists, Sun Valley Opera, and the Franco-American Vocal Academy. She is also among a rare number of singers who have won the Richard F. Gold Career Grant more than once: in 2011 from Washington National Opera, and in 2009 from Central City Opera. In 2019 Ms. Mesko was inducted as a Distinguished Member of Sigma Alpha Iota. A native of Hot Springs, Arkansas, Ms. Mesko holds a master of music degree in vocal performance from Rice University and a bachelor of music degree in vocal and flute performance from the University of Arkansas. (Updated February 2019)