Laura Begley, mezzo-soprano
Laura Begley is a mezzo-soprano originally from Loveland, CO. She graduated from Colorado State University in May 2010 with a B.M. in Vocal Performance where she studied with tenor Dr. Todd Queen. She was named 2009 Singer of the Year at Colorado State University and has placed in the top two for the past three years in the CO/WY NATS Classical Competition including a first place win this past spring in her Senior Division. Mainstage roles while at CSU included Female Chorus in Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia, Meg Page in Verdi’s Falstaff, Mrs. Jones in Weill’s Street Scene, Cenerentola in Rossini’s La Cenerentola, 2nd Lady in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, The Mother in Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors, Prince Orlofsky in Strauss’ Die Fledermaus with CSU Opera Theatre, and Nanette in No, No, Nanette with Opera Fort Collins and the CSU Graduate Conducting Program. She also performed in a scenes program as Zita in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi. Laura has performed as the alto soloist in Bach’s Cantata No. 4, in Handel’s Dixit Dominus, and in Brahms’ Liebeslieder.
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Laura has recently begun her graduate studies at the University of North Texas. She is pursuing her M.M. in Vocal Performance with a related study in Opera Studies and studies with mezzo-soprano Dr. Linda DiFiore. Laura was accepted to UNT with the Charlotte Evan Ayers Voice Scholarship and was awarded an additional opera-based scholarship, the Dean Hamilton Memorial Opera Scholarship. Laura was the understudy for Charlotte in Massenet's Werther and competed in UNT’s Concerto Competition in and made it to the finals round as a Top 4 Finalist. At UNT, Laura was selected to have a private coaching with acclaimed composer Jake Heggie who is the current composer-in-residence at UNT. From the coaching, Laura has been selected by Jake Heggie to perform in a concert of his own selected works including a scene from Dead Man Walking as Jade. This spring, Laura also performed in a scenes program called Opera without Elephants as Adalgisa in a scene from Bellini’s Norma .
Laura has been a part of summer training programs for the past 4 years having performed starting as a soloist in Austria in ’08 with the acclaimed AIMS in Graz program and in Italy in ’09 with the Orvieto Musica- Art of Song Festival. Laura performed many times in a chamber setting in Italy during the Art of Song Festival and was the featured soloist in an Amani String Quartet’s recital performing Respighi’s Il Tramonto. Laura was also selected to sing for 2 weeks at the Amalfi Coast Music Festival. At the Amalfi Coast Music Festival, Laura performed in recitals and scenes as Dorabella in Mozart’s Così fan tutte, Mallika in Delibes’ Lakmé, and Nicklausse in Offenbach’s Les contes d’Hoffman., and performed a mainstage role as Third Lady in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte conducted by Joseph Walsh. Laura recently returned from being an Opera Studio Artist with Opera Saratoga (formerly Lake George Opera) where she performed in all the mainstage shows as well as performing in a duet recital. This past fall, Laura performed with UNT Opera as Elizabeth Proctor in a scene from Robert Ward's The Crucible and was declared the winner of the UNT Concerto Competition and will perform in a winners' concert in March. This year, Laura was a finalist in the NOA Scholarship Competition in Memphis and was a Division Winner in Tulsa, OK for the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. In February, Laura will compete in NYC in the George London Foundation for Singers Competition as will as Regionals for the Met Opera Auditions. Laura was also selected as a semi-finalist for the Dallas Lyric Opera Guild Competition and will compete in March. Upcoming performances include scenes as Sister Helen Prejean from Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking with UNT Opera Theatre, and Suzuki in Puccini’s Madame Butterfly at UNT.
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Laura has recently begun her graduate studies at the University of North Texas. She is pursuing her M.M. in Vocal Performance with a related study in Opera Studies and studies with mezzo-soprano Dr. Linda DiFiore. Laura was accepted to UNT with the Charlotte Evan Ayers Voice Scholarship and was awarded an additional opera-based scholarship, the Dean Hamilton Memorial Opera Scholarship. Laura was the understudy for Charlotte in Massenet's Werther and competed in UNT’s Concerto Competition in and made it to the finals round as a Top 4 Finalist. At UNT, Laura was selected to have a private coaching with acclaimed composer Jake Heggie who is the current composer-in-residence at UNT. From the coaching, Laura has been selected by Jake Heggie to perform in a concert of his own selected works including a scene from Dead Man Walking as Jade. This spring, Laura also performed in a scenes program called Opera without Elephants as Adalgisa in a scene from Bellini’s Norma .
Laura has been a part of summer training programs for the past 4 years having performed starting as a soloist in Austria in ’08 with the acclaimed AIMS in Graz program and in Italy in ’09 with the Orvieto Musica- Art of Song Festival. Laura performed many times in a chamber setting in Italy during the Art of Song Festival and was the featured soloist in an Amani String Quartet’s recital performing Respighi’s Il Tramonto. Laura was also selected to sing for 2 weeks at the Amalfi Coast Music Festival. At the Amalfi Coast Music Festival, Laura performed in recitals and scenes as Dorabella in Mozart’s Così fan tutte, Mallika in Delibes’ Lakmé, and Nicklausse in Offenbach’s Les contes d’Hoffman., and performed a mainstage role as Third Lady in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte conducted by Joseph Walsh. Laura recently returned from being an Opera Studio Artist with Opera Saratoga (formerly Lake George Opera) where she performed in all the mainstage shows as well as performing in a duet recital. This past fall, Laura performed with UNT Opera as Elizabeth Proctor in a scene from Robert Ward's The Crucible and was declared the winner of the UNT Concerto Competition and will perform in a winners' concert in March. This year, Laura was a finalist in the NOA Scholarship Competition in Memphis and was a Division Winner in Tulsa, OK for the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. In February, Laura will compete in NYC in the George London Foundation for Singers Competition as will as Regionals for the Met Opera Auditions. Laura was also selected as a semi-finalist for the Dallas Lyric Opera Guild Competition and will compete in March. Upcoming performances include scenes as Sister Helen Prejean from Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking with UNT Opera Theatre, and Suzuki in Puccini’s Madame Butterfly at UNT.
