Kathryn Leemhuis, Mezzo Soprano

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Biography

American mezzo-soprano, Kathryn Leemhuis, is widely gathering acclaim for the "sweet, penetrating vocal timbre and refined fit" (La Nacion Line) of her voice, coupled with a "gleaming mezzo-soprano" sound (Chicago Classical Review) that is "stunning in its combination of musical and dramatic nuance" (Living at the Opera).

The 2011-2012 season will find Ms. Leemhuis returning to the Lyric Opera of Chicago as an alumna of the Ryan Opera Center, to understudy the role of Giulietta in Offenbach's Les contes d'Hoffmann . She will also make her role debut as Suzuki in DuPage Opera's production of Puccini's Madama Butterfly , and will return to Opera Theatre St. Louis as Dorabella in a new production of Mozart's Cosi fan tutte . This winter, Ms. Leemhuis will sing the mezzo solo in Mendelssohn's Die erste Walpurgisnacht with the Richmond Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Steven Smith.

Ms. Leemhuis' 2010-2011 season included her role debut as Amaltea in Rossini's Mosè in Egitto at the Chicago Opera Theater. The performances proved a success as Opera News praised her for delivering "an excellent Amaltea, biting off her consonants like a scrappish piranha and coursing through the queen's volatile writing with precision and flash." She also sang the role of Paquette in Bernstein's Candide both with the esteemed Ravinia Festival and with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl. Making her DuPage Opera Theatre debut, Ms. Leemhuis sang the role of Zita in Puccini's Gianni Schicchi , and rounded off her season as Zerlina in Opera Theatre St. Louis' production of Mozart's Don Giovanni . Opera Today declared Ms. Leemhuis an "animated stand-out," as her "fresh-voiced Zerlina was a breath of fresh air: spontaneous, honest, and vocally assured."

Ms. Leemhuis continued as a young artist in the 2009-2010 season in the Lyric Opera of Chicago's Ryan Opera Center, where she sang the roles of Giovanna in Verdi's Ernani and Glasa in Janácek's Kát'a Kabanová . She also covered the roles of Marguerite in Berlioz's La damnation de Faust , Siebel in Gounod's Faust, and Varvara in Janácek's Kát'a Kabanová . Ms. Leemhuis made two large role debuts; Donna Elvira in Mozart's Don Giovanni and Rosina in Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia , both in Ryan Opera Center productions. Ms. Leemhuis joined the Ryan Opera Center for the 2008-2009 season in which she performed the roles of Javotte in Massenet's Manon and Kunstgewerblerin in Berg's Lulu. During that season, she covered the roles of Kate Pinkerton in Puccini's Madama Butterfly and Lola in Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana .

Recently Ms. Leemhuis could be seen performing the alto solo in Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in the Grant Park Music Festival at Millennium Park in Chicago, and returning soon after to perform the alto solo in Beethoven's Symphony in C . She performed Dorabella at the Tanglewood Music Center in Mozart's Cosi fan tutte under the baton of Maestro James Levine, gathering glowing acclaim from audiences and critics alike. Ms. Leemhuis "acted vividly and showed smart vocal instincts as Dorabella" (The Boston Globe) while contributing "a hot-to-trot Dorabella, wielding her robust mezzo assertively" (Financial Times). She performed Flora in Verdi's La traviata at Opera Colorado under Maestro Stephen Lord in 2007, was a featured soloist in the Sheldon Concert Hall Series of St. Louis, and made her Carnegie Hall debut as a soloist in The Marilyn Horne Foundation's The Song Continues Festival 2006 .

Ms. Leemhuis received her graduate degree from the prestigious Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where she was heard as Hänsel in Humperdinck's Hänsel und Gretel , Dorabella in Mozart's Cosi fan tutte , and Tulip in the collegiate premiere of Bolcom's A Wedding . Ms. Leemhuis was a member of the Opera Theatre St. Louis Gerdine Young Artist Program in the summer of 2007 where she sang Flora in Verdi's La traviata to critical acclaim. She has also been a member of the Tanglewood Music Festival, the Carmel Bach Festival, and the Steans Institute at Ravinia.

Ms. Leemhuis is the recent first place winner of the 2012 Metropolitan National Council Auditions Upper Midwest Region, following her first place win in the 2011 Wisconsin District. She will compete in the semi-final round at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City in March. She is also the first place winner of the 2010 Musicians' Club of Women Competition, the 2009 American Opera Society Competition, the 2009 Union League Civic of Chicago Competition, and the 2007 Opera Columbus International Vocal Competition. She is also the recent second place winner of the 2011 Gerda Lissner Foundation Vocal Competition, the 2011 Bel Canto Vocal Competition, and the 2010 Fort Worth McCammon Competition. She is the third place winner of the 2011 Harold Haugh Light Opera Competition, the 2010 Licia Albanese-Puccini Competition, and the 2009 Florida Grand Opera Competition. Ms. Leemhuis has also received prizes from the George London Foundation and the Sullivan Foundation.

Roles

Recommended Operatic Roles:

Amaltea from Rossini's Mosè in Egitto (Italian)

Cerere from Rossini’'s Le Nozze di Teti e di Peleo (Italian)

Charlotte from Massenet's Werther (French)

Cherubino from Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro (Italian)

Composer from Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos (German)

Dido from Purcell's Dido and Aeneas (English)

Dinah from Bernstein's Trouble in Tahiti (English)

Dorabella from Mozart's Cosi fan tutte (Italian & English)

Flora from Verdi's La traviata (Italian & English)

Erika from Barber's Vanessa (English)

Hänsel from Humperdinck's Hänsel und Gretel (German & English)

Hermia from Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream (English)

Javotte from Massenet's Manon (French)

Jo from Adamo's Little Women (English)

Kate Pinkerton from Puccini's Madama Butterfly (Italian)

Lola from Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana (Italian)

Marguerite from Berlioz's La Damnation de Faust (French)

Nancy from Britten's Albert Herring (English)

Nicklausse from Offenbach's Les contes d'Hoffman (French)

Octavian from Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier (German)

Paquette from Bernstein's Candide (English)

Romeo from Bellini's I Capuleti e i Montecchi (Italian)

Rosina from Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia (Italian)

Siebel from Gounod's Faust (French)

Suzuki from Puccini's Madama Butterfly (Italian)

Tulip from Bolcom's A Wedding (English)

Varvara from Janácek's Kát'a Kabanová (Czech)

Zerlina from Mozart's Don Giovanni (English)

Zita from Puccini's Gianni Schicchi (Italian)

Oratorio Roles:

Bach's Komm, Jesu, Komm BWV 229 (Alto Soloist)

Bach's Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied BWV 225 (Alto Soloist)

Beethoven's Mass in C (Alto Soloist)

Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis in D (Alto Soloist)

Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 (Alto Soloist)

Bond’s The Ballad of the Brown King (Alto Soloist)

Handel’s Israel in Egypt (Alto Soloist)

Handel's Messiah (Alto Soloist)

Haydn’s Missa Solemis – Harmoniemesse (Alto Soloist)

Honegger's King David (Alto Soloist)

Jerusalem's Polychoral Mass in D Major (Alto Soloist)

Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 (Alto Soloist)

Mozart's C minor Mass (Alto Soloist)

Vivaldi’s Gloria (Alto Soloist)

Competitions

1st Place

- Metropolitan National Council Auditions Upper Midwest Region -

2012

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Encouragement Award

- The Sullivan Foundation Singer Awards -

2011

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1st Place

- Metropolitan National Council Auditions Wisconsin District -

2011

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2nd Prize

- The Bel Canto Foundation Vocal Competition -

2011

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2nd Prize

- The Gerda Lissner Foundation International Vocal Competition -

2011

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3rd Place

- Harold Haugh Light Opera Vocal Competition -

2011

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Honorable Mention

- 40th Annual George London Foundation Awards Competition -

2011

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1st Place (Jerome & Elaine Nerenburg Foundation Scholarship)

- Musicians Club of Women Competition -

2010

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2nd Place

- The Opera Guild of Fort Worth's 14th Marquerite McCammon Competition -

2010

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3rd Place

- The Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation International Vocal Competition -

2010

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Finalist

- The Giulio Gari Foundation Vocal Competition -

2010

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Finalist

- The Irene Dalis Vocal Competition of Opera San José -

2010

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1st Place (Rose McGilvary Grundman Scholarship)

- American Opera Society of Chicago Competition -

2009

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1st Place (Rose M. Grundman Scholarship)

- Union League Civic & Arts Foundation, Chicago Competition -

2009

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2nd Place (Lynne Harvey Scholarship)

- Musicians Club of Women Competition -

2009

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3rd Place

- Young Patronesses of the Opera (FGO) Competition -

2009

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Finals Alternate

- Palm Beach Opera Vocal Competition -

2009

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2nd Place

- Metropolitan National Council Auditions, Kentucky Region -

2008

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1st Place

- Opera Columbus Irma Cooper International Vocal Competition, Senior Division -

2007

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2nd Place

- National Society of Arts & Letters, Bloomington Chapter -

2007

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1st Place

- Indianapolis Matinee Musicale Competition -

2006

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1st Place

- Opera Columbus Irma Cooper International Vocal Competition, Junior Division -

2005

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Regional Finalist

- Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, Cleveland Region -

2005

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2nd Place

- Firelands Symphony Competition -

2005

Summer Programs

Ravinia Steans Institute

- Summer 2010 -

Lyric Opera of Chicago Ryan Opera Center

- 2008 thru 2010 -

Opera Theatre of Saint Louis Gerdine Young Artist Program

- Summers 2007, 2006, & 2005 -

Tanglewood Music Center

- Summers 2007 & 2004 -

Carmel Bach Festival

- Summer 2006 -

OperaWorks Summer Intensive Program

- Summer 2003 -

Lake Placid Institute for the Arts and Humanities

- Summer 2003 -

Education

Master of Music

In Vocal Performance

- Indiana University Jacobs School of Music -

- 2005 thru 2008 -

Bachelor of Music

In Vocal Performance

- Oberlin College Conservatory of Music -

- 2001 thru 2005 -

Collaborations

Voice Teachers:

Gianna Rolandi

Costanza Cuccaro

Lorraine Manz

Jacqueline Barlow

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Coaches:

Ann Baltz

Bill Billingham

Phyllis Curtin

Alan Darling

Laurann Gilley

Kenneth Griffiths

Linda Hall

Miah Im

Kayo Iwama

Kathleen Kelly

Howard Lubin

Ben Malensek

Phil Moorehead

Curt Pajer

Matthew Piatt

Greg Ritchey

Craig Terry

Robert Tweten

Howard Watkins

Eric Weimer

Brian Zeger

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Conductors:

David Agler

Stefan Asbury

John Axelrod

Steuart Bedford

Randall Behr

William Bolcom

Sir Andrew Davis

Jane Glover

Carlos Kalmar

James Levine

Stephen Lord

George Manahan

Kirk Muspratt

Renato Palumbo

Eve Queler

William Fred Scott

Steven Smith

Jeannette Sorrell

Markus Stenz

Bramwell Tovey

Leonardo Vordoni

Bruno Weil

Franz Welser-Möst

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Directors:

Laura Alley

Jose Maria Condemi

John Copley

Paul Curran

Andrew Eggert

Jonathon Field

Colin Graham

Leslie Grayson

Amy Hutchinson

David Kneuss

Stephen Langridge

Vince Liotta

David McVicar

Chaz Rader-Shieber

James Robinson

Michael Shell

Ira Siff

Paula Williams

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Masterclasses:

William Bolcom

James Conlon

Rosalind Elias

Paul Groves

Marilyn Horne

Kiri te Kanawa

Jennifer Lane

Jennifer Larmore

Stephen Lord

Lucy Shelton

Sanford Sylvan

Dawn Upshaw

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