ABOUT
Mezzo-soprano Mary Beth Nelson has been praised for singing with “virtuosic abandon... joyous flair and assured beauty of tone” (Opera Today) at The Glimmerglass Festival, where she sang the role of Ruth Bader Ginsburg in Derrick Wang’s comedic opera Scalia/Ginsburg. Following her success as the operatic Supreme Court Justice, she was invited to Washington D.C. to perform in the winter Judicial Congressional Dialogue, as well as the Bipartisan Chiefs of Staff Initiative, where she sang for members of the Senate, House Legislation and their staff, and both the Supreme Court and Federal Court judiciary.
As it was recently announced following the onset of the Covid-19 crisis, Ms. Nelson won 2nd Place in the 2020 Rochester International Vocal Competition. She will perform online in a streamed concert on May 1st, 2021 at 7:00pm ET.
In 2019, Ms. Nelson received a Career Bridges grant in New York City, as well as semifinalist honors in the Houston Grand Opera Eleanor McCollum Competition. This same year she debuted with Painted Sky Opera as Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia and with Bronx Opera as the Secretary in Menotti’s The Consul.
Ms. Nelson trained at The Glimmerglass Festival as a young artist for two seasons preceding her residency in the Florida Grand Opera Studio. In November 2017, she made her house debut as Alisa in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, where she was commended for her “ample voice and dark foreboding” by South Florida Classical Review. During her time in Florida, she performed Schumann’s Frauenliebe und leben in FGO’s SongFest series in Miami and Ft. Lauderdale and covered Anthony Roth Costanzo in Orfeo ed Euridice.
Ms. Nelson was a resident artist for two seasons (2015–2017) with Tri-Cities Opera, where she made her guest artist debut as Isabella in L’italiana in Algeri, followed by Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Dinah in Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti, Flora in La traviata, Hansel in Hansel and Gretel, Concepción in Ravel’s L’heure espagnole, and the mezzo-soprano in Glass’ Hydrogen Jukebox.
She holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Oklahoma City University, where she proudly studied voice with Dr. Frank Ragsdale and coached with Jan McDaniel. Currently, she lives in Manhattan and studies voice with Laura Brooks Rice. She is a native of Southern California, and her favorite cuisine is Tex-Mex.
As it was recently announced following the onset of the Covid-19 crisis, Ms. Nelson won 2nd Place in the 2020 Rochester International Vocal Competition. She will perform online in a streamed concert on May 1st, 2021 at 7:00pm ET.
In 2019, Ms. Nelson received a Career Bridges grant in New York City, as well as semifinalist honors in the Houston Grand Opera Eleanor McCollum Competition. This same year she debuted with Painted Sky Opera as Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia and with Bronx Opera as the Secretary in Menotti’s The Consul.
Ms. Nelson trained at The Glimmerglass Festival as a young artist for two seasons preceding her residency in the Florida Grand Opera Studio. In November 2017, she made her house debut as Alisa in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, where she was commended for her “ample voice and dark foreboding” by South Florida Classical Review. During her time in Florida, she performed Schumann’s Frauenliebe und leben in FGO’s SongFest series in Miami and Ft. Lauderdale and covered Anthony Roth Costanzo in Orfeo ed Euridice.
Ms. Nelson was a resident artist for two seasons (2015–2017) with Tri-Cities Opera, where she made her guest artist debut as Isabella in L’italiana in Algeri, followed by Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Dinah in Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti, Flora in La traviata, Hansel in Hansel and Gretel, Concepción in Ravel’s L’heure espagnole, and the mezzo-soprano in Glass’ Hydrogen Jukebox.
She holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Oklahoma City University, where she proudly studied voice with Dr. Frank Ragsdale and coached with Jan McDaniel. Currently, she lives in Manhattan and studies voice with Laura Brooks Rice. She is a native of Southern California, and her favorite cuisine is Tex-Mex.
Updated March 2021