ABOUT
Mezzo-soprano Mary Beth Nelson is 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 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 as well as the Bipartisan Chiefs of Staff Initiative, where she sang for members of Senate, House Legislation and their staff, and both the Supreme Court and Federal Court judiciary.
As a young artist with the Cooperstown, NY festival over the course of 2016-2017, she appeared in roles in Oklahoma (Virginia), Francesca Zambello's production of The Crucible (Betty Parris), and Lost Luggage (Ernestina).
For the 2017-18 season, Ms. Nelson was a member of the Florida Grand Opera studio, where in November 2017 she made her house debut as Alisa in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor and was commended for her "ample voice and dark foreboding" by South Florida Classical Review. During her time in Florida, she performed Schumann's Fraunliebe 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 with Tri-Cities Opera for two seasons, 2015-2017, where she made her guest artist debut as Isabella in L'italiana in Algeri, followed by Rosina in Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia, Dinah in Leonard Bernstein's Trouble in Tahiti, Flora in La Traviata, Hansel in Humperdinck's Hansel & Gretel, Concepción in Maurice Ravel's one-act opera L'heure espagnole, and the mezzo-soprano in Philip Glass' Hydrogen Jukebox.
Most recently, she debuted with Bronx Opera in Menotti’s The Consul, singing the role of the Secretary. Last season, she debuted with Opera Las Vegas as Angelina in La Cenerentola, where she was noted for executing a “panoply of vocal colors” (Broadway World). She holds a 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.
This season, Ms. Nelson debuts with Painted Sky Opera as Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia.
As a young artist with the Cooperstown, NY festival over the course of 2016-2017, she appeared in roles in Oklahoma (Virginia), Francesca Zambello's production of The Crucible (Betty Parris), and Lost Luggage (Ernestina).
For the 2017-18 season, Ms. Nelson was a member of the Florida Grand Opera studio, where in November 2017 she made her house debut as Alisa in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor and was commended for her "ample voice and dark foreboding" by South Florida Classical Review. During her time in Florida, she performed Schumann's Fraunliebe 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 with Tri-Cities Opera for two seasons, 2015-2017, where she made her guest artist debut as Isabella in L'italiana in Algeri, followed by Rosina in Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia, Dinah in Leonard Bernstein's Trouble in Tahiti, Flora in La Traviata, Hansel in Humperdinck's Hansel & Gretel, Concepción in Maurice Ravel's one-act opera L'heure espagnole, and the mezzo-soprano in Philip Glass' Hydrogen Jukebox.
Most recently, she debuted with Bronx Opera in Menotti’s The Consul, singing the role of the Secretary. Last season, she debuted with Opera Las Vegas as Angelina in La Cenerentola, where she was noted for executing a “panoply of vocal colors” (Broadway World). She holds a 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.
This season, Ms. Nelson debuts with Painted Sky Opera as Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia.
Updated November 2018