the artists Layla Claire pamina
Canadian soprano Layla Claire has been celebrated as a unique artist with a voice of special color and expressivity. She has been hailed in both the Americas and Europe for her prowess in recital and in concert with the world’s leading orchestras. A 2012 graduate of the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Program, Ms. Claire performed the role of Helena in the Met’s world premiere of The Enchanted Island, Giannetta in L’elisir d’amore and Tebaldo in Don Carlo. She scored her first European triumph in La finta giardiniera at the Aixen-Provence Festival and has since sung the Countess in Le nozze di Figaro for Glyndebourne Touring Opera. Her 2013–2014 season included debuts with Pittsburgh Opera (Pamina in Die Zauberflöte) and the Canadian Opera Company (Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte). Ms. Claire returns to the Glyndebourne Festival as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni this summer. She is the recipient of the prestigious Canada Council Virginia Parker Prize, The Hildegard Behrens Foundation Award and the Mozart Prize at the Wilhelm Stenhammar International Music Competition. Ms. Claire’s appearance is generously sponsored by Sue and Jim Nelson.
Tracey Engleman
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With a voice the Boston Globe called “extraordinary in range, tonal quality, musicianship and dramatic effect,” soprano Tracey Engleman has gained a reputation for excellence in opera, recital and concert. As a frequent performer in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, she has received rave reviews for her operatic work. The St. Paul Pioneer Press wrote that Ms. Engleman’s “clear, powerful high notes unleash all the desired adrenaline and misty romanticism the score demands” and The Wall Street Journal has written that she sings with “crystalline purity.” Recent roles include Isabella Smith in The Ladysmith Story, a contemporary opera by Christopher Gable; Julie in The New Moon with Music by the Lake; Kathy in The Student Prince with Skylark Opera; Ofglen in The Handmaid’s Tale, the Page in Rigoletto and the Girl in the Bed in Casanova’s Homecoming with Minnesota Opera; the School Teacher in Ainadamar with the Los Angeles Philharmonic; Adina in L’elisir d’amore and Norina in Don Pasquale with the Rochester Aria Group; and Elvira in I puritani with Minnesota Concert Opera.
Christie Hageman Conover pamina
Soprano Christie Hageman Conover joined the Minnesota Opera Resident Artist Program last season singing Anna in Nabucco, Liù in Turandot and Musetta in La bohème for Opera under the Stars. This season she sang Micaëla in Carmen with Livermore Valley Opera, two different concerts with the Helena Symphony and a guest appearance with the Bakken Trio. Most recently Christie won first place in the Grand Junction Symphony Young Artist Competition in March, placed second and was voted Audience Choice at the Irene Dalis Competition last May, received first place in the Denver Lyric Opera Guild Competition in 2010 and was 2011 regional third place and 2012 regional finalist of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Other performances include the Contessa in Le nozze di Figaro, Juliette in Roméo et Juliette, Abigail Williams in The Crucible, Emily in Ned Rorem’s Our Town, Clorinda in La Cenerentola, Gretel in Hansel and Gretel, Zerlina in Don Giovanni, the Vixen in The Cunning Little Vixen and on the Miss America stage in Las Vegas.