Mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe is considered to be one of the most highly respected artists of her generation.

Ms. Blythe has sung in many of the renowned opera houses in the US and Europe including the Metropolitan Opera, Seattle Opera, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, and the Opera National de Paris. Her many roles include the title roles in Carmen, La Grande Duchesse, Tancredi, Mignon, and Guilio Cesare; Frugola, Principessa, and Zita in the Il Trittico, Fricka in both Das Rheingold and Die Walküre, Azucena in Il Trovatore, Ulrica in Un Ballo in Maschera, Baba the Turk in The Rake's Progress, Jocasta in Oedipus Rex, Mere Marie in Dialogues des Carmélites; Isabella in L'Italiana in Algeri,, Mistress Quickly in Falstaff, Ino/Juno in Semele, and Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus ... read full bio

Mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe is considered to be one of the most highly respected artists of her generation.

Ms. Blythe has sung in many of the renowned opera houses in the US and Europe including the Metropolitan Opera, Seattle Opera, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, and the Opera National de Paris. Her many roles include the title roles in Carmen, La Grande Duchesse, Tancredi, Mignon, and Guilio Cesare; Frugola, Principessa, and Zita in the Il Trittico, Fricka in both Das Rheingold and Die Walküre, Azucena in Il Trovatore, Ulrica in Un Ballo in Maschera, Baba the Turk in The Rake's Progress, Jocasta in Oedipus Rex, Mere Marie in Dialogues des Carmélites; Isabella in L'Italiana in Algeri,, Mistress Quickly in Falstaff, Ino/Juno in Semele, and Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus

This season Ms. Blythe added three new roles to her repertoire: Dalila in Samson et Dalila (Pittsburgh Opera), the title role in Orfeo (Metropolitan Opera), and Ježibaba in Rusalka (Metropolitan Opera). She also returned to the Arizona Opera for The Mikado and appeared with the Collegiate Chorale in Carnegie Hall. Upcoming engagements include the Verdi Requiem with the San Francisco Opera, an appearance with the Washington Concert Opera, and her return to the Seattle Opera for the complete Ring Cycle. Next season, she makes her house debut at the San Francisco Opera as Azucena, and returns to the Metropolitan Opera for Il Trittico, Covent Garden as Baba the Turk, and the Seattle Opera as Mistress Quickly. She also appears in Carnegie Hall with both the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and the Boston Symphony Orchestra in concerts conducted by James Levine.

Ms. Blythe has appeared with many of the world's finest orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra (in Boston and in Tanglewood), Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Orchestra of St. Luke's, Opera Orchestra of New York, Minnesota Orchestra, Halle Orchestra, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, and the Ensemble Orchestre de Paris. The many conductors with whom she has worked include Harry Bicket, James Conlon, Charles Dutoit, Mark Elder, Christoph Eschenbach, James Levine, Nicola Luisotti, Sir Charles Mackerras, John Nelson, Antonio Pappano, Mstislav Rostropovitch, Robert Spano, Patrick Summers, and Michael Tilson Thomas.

A frequent recitalist, Ms. Blythe has been presented in recital with her collaborative partner, Warren Jones, by Zankel Hall, Lincoln Center's Great Performers Series at Alice Tully Hall, the 92^nd Street Y, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York; the Vocal Arts Society and at the Supreme Court at the invitation of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg in Washington, DC; the Cleveland Art Song Festival, the University Musical Society in Ann Arbor, the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, and Shriver Hall in Baltimore. She premiered Vignettes: Ellis Island, a song cycle written especially for her by Alan Smith, and has since performed it at the Ravinia Festival and with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. It was also featured in a special television program entitled "Vignettes: An Evening with Stephanie Blythe and Warren Jones, presented by Opera News on the WNYE television series Opera New York.  Last season, she premiered and recorded another piece by Alan Smith entitled Covered Wagon Woman, which was commissioned for her residency with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. This season she performed the piece again with Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center on tour throughout the U.S.

Ms. Blythe's most recent solo recordings include a collection of pieces by Mahler, Brahms, and Wagner  and an album of Handel and Bach arias  - all released on the Virgin Classics label.

Ms. Blythe was recently named Musical America's Vocalist of the Year for 2009. Her other awards include the 2007 Opera News Award and the 1999 Richard Tucker Award.