CAROLINE WORRA – soprano
Caroline Worra has been hailed by Opera News as "one of the finest singing actresses around". She has sung over 75 different operatic roles including more than 20 World, American, and Regional Premieres. She was internationally acclaimed for her performances of Jenny in The Mines of Sulphur, Grammy nominated CD for Best Opera Recording, and as the title role for The Greater Good; Passion of Boule de Suif, Opera News and New York Times pick for one of the top classical CDs of the year. Her third full opera recording, Glory Denied, was released by Albany Records and is a Washington Post and Opera News pick for one of the top CDs of the year.
This season Ms. Worra appeared with Utah Opera in the title role of The Merry Widow and with Opera Southwest in their New Year’s Eve Gala. She continues into 2016 singing Beethoven’s Mass in C with New York Choral Society in Carnegie Hall, the American Lyric Theater Alumni Concert at the National Sawdust Theater, Blanche in A Streetcar Named Desire with Tulsa Opera, Strauss’ Four Last Songs and the Mahler Fourth with the LaCrosse Symphony, The Poe Project; Buried Alive and Embedded with Fort Worth Opera and Ellen Orford in Peter Grimes with the Princeton Festival. She will return to Boston Lyric Opera in 2016-17 in Turnage’s Greek.
Recent seasons have seen Ms. Worra in the American premiere of Faccio’s Amleto with Opera Southwest and Baltimore Concert Opera, Boston Lyric Opera in Cosi fan tutte and in Lizzie Borden which was also performed at the Tanglewood Festival, Glass’ Orphee with Pittsburgh Opera, and the world premiere of A Long Walk with Saratoga Opera.
Ms. Worra has worked at over 30 opera companies across the United States including The Metropolitan Opera, The Lyric Opera of Chicago, Dallas Opera, Long Beach Opera, Opera Santa Barbara, Madison Opera, Cedar Rapids Opera, Opera Memphis, Fargo-Moorhead Opera, Gotham Chamber Opera, Urban Arias, American Opera Projects, Berkshire Opera Festival, and six seasons at both Glimmerglass Opera and New York City Opera. She has been heard in recital at Carnegie Hall (Weill Hall) and performed on the main stage of Carnegie as the soprano soloist in Britten's Spring Symphony, Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass and Orff's Carmina Burana. Overseas she has performed as Anne Truelove in The Rake's Progress at Teatro Massimo Bellini in Catania, Sicily and as Jenny in The Mines of Sulphur at The Wexford Festival Opera in Ireland (winner of The 2009 Best Opera of Ireland Award).
She is a recipient of the Shoshana Foundation/Richard F. Gold Career Grant. She has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Piano and Vocal Performance from Luther College, a Master of Music Degree in Vocal Performance from The University of Missouri in Columbia where she also received a Distinguished Alumni Award from the College of Arts and Science, and a Doctor of Music degree in Vocal Performance from Indiana University.