Melody Moore, Soprano
American soprano, Melody Moore, “has a vulnerability that is heartbreaking to watch”
and a “rich, mellow tone” that is “achingly intense” according to critics writing of her
performances from Hawaii to London. Ms. Moore debuted last year with New York City
Opera as Rita Clayton in Stephen Schwartz’s opera, Séance on a Wet Afternoon. She
returned to the company, earlier this year, to singing the lead role of Régine Saint
Laurent in Rufus Wainwright’s opera, Prima Donna. Ms. Moore also created the role of
Susan Rescorla in the San Francisco Opera world premiere of Christopher Theofanidis’
Heart of a Soldier. Directed by Francesca Zambello, Heart of a Soldier is based on
James B. Stewart’s book which tells the story of Rick Rescorla, a soldier and hero who
saved thousands of lives at the World Trade Center.
Melody made her London debut as Mimi in Jonathan Miller’s production of La Bohème
and returned to perform Marguerite in Des McAnuff’s production of Faust. Ms. Moore
has also performed Marguerite with Hawaii Opera and Mimi with the opera companies
of San Francisco and Cleveland. Under the baton of James Conlon, she has appeared
with Los Angeles Opera in their double bill of Zemlinsky’s Der Zwerg and Ullmann’s Der
zerbrochene Krug as part of the Recovered Voices Project, which highlighted recovered
works by composers affected by the Holocaust. Ms. Moore has performed the role of
Countessa Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro with San Francisco Opera and Madison
Opera. She has also performed Manon Lescaut with New Orleans Opera, Suor
Angelica with Orlando Opera and the Opera Theatre and Musical Festival of Lucca,
Italy.
Ms. Moore is equally recognized for her outstanding work on the concert stage. Joshua
Kosman of the San Francisco Chronicle praised her performance with Nadja SalernoSonnenberg and the New Century Chamber Orchestra, saying, “Moore's four Schubert
songs, arranged by Clarice Assad, were delivered with the kind of intensity and raw
emotional power that are too rarely heard in this repertoire.” San Francisco Classical
Voice has called her performances with the New Century “riveting” and saluted her
performances of Britten’s Les Illuminations. Recent performances also include Donna
Anna in Don Giovanni with the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra and the solo voice in Kurt
Weill’s Nanna’s Lied with San Francisco Ballet. Ms. Moore made her German debut last
year with the Bavarian Radio Symphony singing in Gordon Getty’s Plump Jack.
Born and raised in Dyersburg, Tennessee, Ms. Moore, as a small child, first began
singing with her parents at church and other community functions. She received her
Master’s Degree from the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and her Bachelor’s
degree from Kent State University. Her Kent State teacher, James Mismas, encouraged
her to pursue a performance career and she credits his faith in her abilities with much of
her current success. Ms. Moore is a former Merola Opera Program participant and was
a San Francisco Opera Adler Fellow. She currently lives in San Francisco with her wife.
Melody Moore, Soprano
Selected Operatic Repertoire
COMPOSER
WORK
ROLE
Britten
The Turn of the Screw
Governess
The Rape of Lucretia
Female Chorus
Gloriana
Lady Rich
Gounod
Faust
Marguerite
Mozart
Cosi fan tutte
Dorabella
Don Giovanni
Donna Elvira, Donna Anna
Le Nozze di Figaro
Contessa Almaviva
La Finta Giardiniera
Ramiro
Il Re Pastore
Amyntas
Die Zauberflöte
Pamina, First Lady
Paulus
The Village Singer
Candace Whitcomb
Puccini
La Boheme
Mimi
Manon Lescaut
Manon
Suor Angelica
Suor Angelica
La Rondine
Magda
Schwartz
Seance on a Wet Afternoon
Mrs. Clayton
Theofanidis
Heart of a Soldier
Susan Rescorla
Verdi
La Traviata
Violetta
Zemlinsky
Der Zwerg
First Maid
Ullmann
Der Zerbrochene Krug
Eva