Heidi Melton
Vocalists
— Soprano
-
Manager: Damon Bristo
Management Territory: Worldwide
“This could perhaps be the Wagnerian voice we have been waiting for since Flagstad and Nilsson.” —Claude Gingras, La Presse, July 12, 2010 - Wagner program for the opening of Festival de Lanaudière
"Remember the name Heidi Melton. The American dramatic soprano, just 28, has a glorious career ahead of her. Elisabeth's ringing "Dich, teure Halle" from 'Tannhäuser' and Sieglinde's more sombre and emotional "Der Männer Sippe" and "Du bist der Lenz" from 'Die Walküre' displayed a huge voice that is bright, clear and sweet, and cocooned in a seductive vibrato. She has gorgeous low notes, beautiful phrasing, and interprets her singing from her soul." —Paula Citron, Globe and Mail, July 11, 2010 - Wagner program for the opening of Festival de Lanaudière
"Berg's luxurious 'Seven Early Songs' introduced us to the breathtaking voice of the young American soprano Heidi Melton, whose seamless lyricism floated effortlessly over the molten restlessness of Berg's golden orchestrations." —Ken Walton, The Scotsman, October 13, 2009 - Soloist with the BBC Scottish Symphony, Berg Seven Early Songs
About
The young American dramatic soprano Heidi Melton has been called “the Wagnerian voice we have been waiting for since Flagstad and Nilsson” (La Presse), a voice that is “big, gleaming and tonally resplendent” (San Francisco Chronicle).
For the 2010 – 2011 season, Ms. Melton will make her role debut as Elsa von Brabant in 'Lohengrin' under the baton of Kent Nagano with Tokyo Opera Nomori and will sing Sieglinde in a concert version of Act 1 of 'Die Walküre' with the BBC Scottish Symphony under Donald Runnicles. She will return to . . . both Opéra National de Bordeaux in the title role of 'Ariadne auf Naxos' and the Deutsche Oper Berlin as Gertrude in 'Hänsel und Gretel'. She will sing her first complete Sieglinde in 'Die Walküre' and Third Norn in 'Götterdämmerung' in Wagner’s 'Der Ring des Nibelungen' with San Francisco Opera, directed by Francesca Zambello and conducted by Donald Runnicles. Ms. Melton will also cover the title role in 'Aida' for San Francisco Opera and sing performances of Rossini’s 'Stabat Mater' with the San Antonio Symphony. Future engagements include returns to the Metropolitan Opera and Deutsche Oper Berlin, as well as an ensemble member at Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe.
Ms. Melton returned to the San Francisco Opera for her final year in the company’s Adler Program during the 2009 – 2010 season. She made her Metropolitan Opera debut as the Second Maid in 'Elektra' under Fabio Luisi and performed Berg’s 'Seven Early Songs' with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Donald Runnicles. In the spring, she made her debut at the Deutsche Oper Berlin as a member of their ensemble and sang such roles as the First Lady in 'Die Zauberflöte', Marianne Leitmetzerin in 'Der Rosenkavalier', Helmwige in 'Die Walküre', and Third Norn in 'Götterdämmerung'. In the summer of 2010, Ms. Melton opened the 33rd Season of the Festival de Lanaudière in a gala concert singing excerpts from Wagner’s 'Tannhäuser' and 'Die Walküre'.
Ms. Melton made her debut with Opéra National de Bordeaux in the 2007- 2008 as Amelia in 'Un ballo in maschera' and returned in 2008 – 2009 for Elisabeth in 'Tannhäuser' in which Forum Opera proclaimed her “a revelation.” Other notable past engagements that season include her debut with the Milwaukee Symphony in a New Year’s Eve Gala performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, performances of Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 with California’s North State Symphony Orchestra, the Berkeley Symphony in Golijov’s “Night of the Flying Horses” and Shostakovich’s “From Jewish Poetry”. In recital, she has made her Schwabacher Debut Recital through the San Francisco Opera and a recital for the Jussi Björling Society in Voxna, Sweden. Additionally, she performed Verdi’s Messa da requiem for Donald Runnicles’s farewell concert as Music Director of San Francisco Opera
As an Adler Fellow at San Francisco Opera, Ms. Melton has performed a variety of roles including Mary Todd Lincoln in the world premiere of Phillip Glass’s 'Appomattox', Marianne Leitmetzerin in 'Der Rosenkavalier', and Dianne in 'Iphigénie en Tauride'. As a 2006 participant in the Merola Opera Program, she performed Amelia Grimaldi in scenes from 'Simon Boccanegra'. Ms. Melton received her Master of Music degree at the Curtis Institue of Music where she performed the roles of Ariadne in 'Ariadne auf Naxos', Alcina in 'Alcina', Lady Billows in 'Albert Herring', and Fiordiligi in 'Così fan tutte'.
Ms. Melton is the recipient of many prestigious awards and prizes: she was the 2009 winner of the George London Foundation’s George London / Kirsten Flagstad Memorial Award, second place in the José Iturbi Compeition, a Sarah Tucker Study Grant from the Richard Tucker Music Foundation, and third place in the 27th Annual Belevedere Competition. In 2006 she was a national semi-finalist at the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions as well as the winner of the Mario Lanza Competition.
(Updated July 2010)
