Biography

ne felt the crackle of a strong artistic intelligence . . . this was a voice you wanted to hear and, even more, an artist you wanted to follow”, is how the New York Times has described mezzo-soprano Brenda Patterson, who is recognized as much for her artistic courage and inventiveness as for the beauty and warmth of her singular voice.

Previously in residence at the Hamburgische Staatsoper in Germany, she has sung most of the major roles for her voice type, such as Idamante, Octavian, Dorabella, Niklausse, Annio, Hänsel, Cherubino, and Rosina, and was on the roster of the Metropolitan Opera for seven seasons, singing and covering in several productions, including Rusalka (Wood Sprite), Lulu (Gymnasiast), Le Nozze di Figaro (Cherubino), and Iphigénie en Tauride (Diane).

A graduate of Juilliard (where she received the Taranow Prize in Voice) and Barnard College, she was the 2004 Winner of the Alice Tully Vocal Arts Debut Recital Competition in New York.

She made her Carnegie Hall debut with the American Symphony Orchestra (Elsbeth in Strauss's Feuersnot), and has sung at the Teatro alla Scala, Glimmerglass Opera, Opera Colorado, the Lyric Opera of Kansas City and Florida Grand Opera, among others.

Projects have included a solo show with the Gotham Chamber Opera and the Armitage Gone! dance troupe entitled Ariadne Unhinged, in which Opera Today described her as “electric”, and singing Bach with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s and the Handel & Haydn Society, for which the New York Sun praised her as “a treasure among musicians”.

A champion of new music, Ms. Patterson has premiered over 30 vocal works, collaborating with ensembles such as Meridian Arts, the Aeolian Chamber Players, Antares, AXIOM, Huang Ruo's FIRE, and participating in new opera workshops such as New York City Opera's VOX, Opera America's New Works Showcase, and the HERE Arts Center's PROTOTYPE. She has performed in the NY Phil Biennale, with Alan Gilbert, in H.K. Gruber’s Gloria: A Pig Tale, and has recorded Su Lian Tan and Jamaica Kincaid’s Jamaica’s Songs for the ARSIS label.

Ms. Patterson has been featured in Laura Kaminsky's As One with West Edge Opera, a role she reprised at New Orleans Opera.

The creator of a curriculum for vocal composers titled "The Composer's Voice", Ms. Patterson has presented classes at Juilliard and Mannes, for the Metropolitan Opera Lindemann Young Artists, and has been an official consultant for Opera Philadelphia's composers in residence. She is also on the Voice Faculty of the University of Virginia.

Brenda Patterson is a co-founder and the Director of Music for Victory Hall Opera in Charlottesville, VA (victoryhallopera.org), a pioneering company now entering its 6th Season, formed around a core Troupe of extraordinary singers. Brenda has twice been awarded the Music Academy of the West's prestigious Alumni Enterprise Award for her innovative work with VHO.

Contact:bpatterson@victoryhallopera.org

COMPOSER	OPERA	ROLE
Berg	Lulu	Gymnasiast/Garderobiere/Groom
Berlioz	Les Troyens	Ascanio
Bernstein	Trouble in Tahiti	Dinah
Britten	A Midsummer Night’s Dream	Hippolyta
.	The Rape of Lucretia	Female Chorus
.	.	Lucretia
Chabrier	L’Etoile	Lazuli
.	.	Aloës
Cimarosa	Il Matrimonio Segreto	Fidalma
Copland	The Tenderland	Mrs. Jenks
Dvorak	Rusalka	2nd Wood Sprite
Gluck	Orfeo ed Euridice	Orfeo
.	Iphigénie en Tauride	Diane
.	Ezio	Ezio
Gounod	Roméo et Juliette	Stephano
Handel	Giulio Cesare	Sesto
Haydn	Orlando Paladino	Alcina
.	Philemon und Baucis	Baucis
	Hänsel und Gretel	Hänsel
Janácek	The Diary of One Who Vanished	Gypsy
Kaminsky	As One	Hannah
Mascagni	Cavalleria Rusticana	Lola
Massenet	Chérubin	Chérubin
.	Manon	Javotte
	.	Rosette
Monteverdi	L’Orfeo	La Musica/Messaggera
.	L’Incoronazione di Poppea	Amor/Valletto/Pallade
Mozart	Così fan tutte	Dorabella
.	Idomeneo	Idamante
.	Le Nozze di Figaro	Cherubino
.	La Clemenza di Tito	Annio
.	Die Zauberflöte	2. Dame
Offenbach	Les Contes d’Hoffmann	Niklausse/ La Muse
Paulus	Heloise and Abelard	Denise
Poulenc	Dialogues des Carmelites	Soeur Mathilde
Puccini	Madame Butterfly	Kate Pinkerton
Purcell	Dido and Aeneas	Dido
Ravel	L’Enfant et les Sortiléges	L’Enfant
Rameau	Achante et Céphise	Grande Prêtresse
Rossini	Il Barbiere di Siviglia	Rosina
.	Il Turco in Italia	Zaida
Strauss	Elektra	2. Magd
.	Daphne	2. Magd
.	Der Rosenkavalier	Octavian
Tan	Lotus Lives	Lily
Verdi	La Traviata	Annina
.	.	Flora
.	Don Carlos	Thibault
Wagner	Parsifal	Flower-Maiden
.	Tristan & Isolde	Brangäne
Weill	Down in the Valley	Jenny

Reviews

of Alice Tully Vocal Arts Debut Recital

“ . . . one felt the crackle of a strong artistic intelligence . . . . she was luminous . . . .The overall impression Ms. Patterson made, in her stunning black evening dress, was that this was a voice you wanted to hear and, even more, an artist you wanted to follow. “

- Anne Midgette, The New York Times, 11/22/04

of Le Nozze di Figaro with the Lyric Opera of Kansas City

“Mezzo-soprano Brenda Patterson delivers a winning performance as Cherubino.”

- Robert Trussell, Kansas City Star, 4/10/11

“Brenda Patterson sang the trouser role of Cherubino with a strong sense of phrasing and line . . . . In Acts 3 and 4 she looked spookily like Mr. Bieber, to comic effect.”

- Paul Horsley, KC Independent, 4/10/11

“Brenda Patterson nailed the role of Cherubino: she (playing a “he”) was fresh and believable during the introductory number, ‘Non so più’, and Patterson continued to perfectly play a timid, insecure adolescent, complete with affable facial expressions and awkward gestures.

- Sarah Tyrrell, KCMetropolis, 4/11/11

of Roméo et Juliette with Opera Colorado

“ . . . Brenda Patterson's dark-hued mezzo-soprano and delightfully cavalier interpretation of Stephano ensured her triumphant Opera Colorado debut”

- Sabine Kortals,Denver Post , 2/11/2013

“ . . . Brenda Patterson was light and charming as Stéphano, her "Que fais-tu" a highlight of the evening.”

- Marc Shulgold, OPERA, August 2013

“Romeo's page, Stefano (Brenda Patterson, a thrilling mezzo-soprano) comes looking for his master, singing an impudent tune . . .”

- Bob Bows, Colorado Drama, 2/14/13

of Manon with Teatro alla Scala

“ . . . talented dramatically and excellent vocally was Brenda Patterson (Rosette).”

- Francesco Rapaccioni, Teatro.org, 6/19/12

“ . . . full of haughty verve as the cocotte Rosette [was Brenda Patterson].”

- Ugo Malasoma,OperaClick, 6/19/12

of Gloria: A Pig Tale in the NY Phil Biennale

“ . . . The mezzo-soprano Brenda Patterson brings vocal warmth and, in welcome moments, a calming presence, playing a solo pig full of helpful commentary on the proceedings. ”

- Anthony Tommasini, The New York Times, 5/30/14

of Ariadne Unhinged with Gotham Chamber Opera

“Brenda Patterson—the title character on the May 11 performance of the Chamber Opera’s most recent production Ariadne Unhinged—created electric moments in this little theatre . . . extraordinarily well executed.”

- Megan Jenkins,Opera Today, 15/5/08

of Orlando Paladino with Glimmerglass Opera

“Brenda Patterson sang Alcina with both suppleness and drama . . . “

- Allan Kozinn, The New York Times, 7/30/02

“Brenda Patterson [as Alcina] has the right imperious temperament and commanding voice . . .”

- Judith Malafronte, Opera News, Dec. 2002

“Brenda Patterson’s densely focused mezzo is perfect .”

- Scott Cantrell, The Dallas Morning News, 8/12/02

“Mezzo Brenda Patterson gave assertive and resonant vocal power to the role of the sorceress Alcina . . . particularly commanding . . .”

- Stephen Landesman, The Ithaca Journal, 7/25/02

“Brenda Patterson contributed a magisterial presence . . .”

- Chuck Klaus, The Post-Standard (Syracuse), 7/24/02

“Impressive also among the younger singers is mezzo Brenda Patterson’s dark, Persephone-like danger and allure as Alcina.”

- James MacKillop, Syracuse New Times, 8/7/02

of Rusalka with the Metropolitan Opera

“Brenda Patterson made an impressive showing in her Met debut as one of Rusalka’s playmates.”

- Sam Shirakawa, Operacast.com, 3/11/09

“And the cast was strong even down to the bit parts . . . with two notable Wood Sprites: Brenda Patterson, very pleasant in her Met Debut as Sprite #2 . . .”

- JSU, “An Unamplified Voice” (weblog), 3/11/09

of Bach cantatas for solo alto with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s

“Ms. Patterson sang it beautifully, richly, soulfully. She also sang it without pretentiousness, without any fuss. She simply let it out. Moreover, her technique seems utterly natural . . . Furthermore, she sang as though she believed what she was singing. . . .Her mastery was as clear in the recitatives as in the arias. . . .She was good in every particular, but the particulars were essentially unnoticeable. What I mean is, the particulars were beneath notice, because a) they could be taken for granted, and b) the whole was so good. Always, there was vocal focus, and an intelligence about text, and a mental certainty.”

- Jay Nordlinger, The New York Sun, 5/14/07

“Patterson is the real McCoy: a genuine Bach singer, making her a treasure among musicians.”

- New York Chronicle, 12/07

of Su Lian Tan’s Jamaica’s Songs, recorded on ARSIS

“ … top-flight . . . compelling. In the end, a satisfying release with a deeper-than-usual take on the words-and-music question.”

- Robert Carl, Fanfare (2011)

of premiere of Kati Agocs’ In the Imagination of Their Hearts
with Antares

“Brenda Patterson, a mezzo-soprano with an appealingly warm sound, gave the work a shapely reading that pointed up Ms. Agocs’s responsiveness to the texts.”

- Allan Kozinn, The New York Times, 1/17/04

of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s

“Soon enough, however, we got to Brenda Patterson, the mezzo-soprano of the afternoon. What a revelation. Her instrument is juicy and beautiful, and her technique is rock-solid: She sings in the center of the center of any note. And she sings with taste, style, and intelligence. One had the impression of listening to - of discovering, in my case - a great singer. If there’s any justice, she will be rich and famous.”

- Jay Nordlinger, The New York Sun, 12/21/04

of Orfeo ed Euridice with the Sideshow Opera Co.

“compelling and frequently astonishing . . . mezzo-soprano Brenda Patterson dominates the opera in the role of Orfeo. She maintains a dark vocal tone with carefully nuanced expression, and her “Che farò senza Euridice?” is nothing short of breathtaking. Patterson handles the demanding vocal runs of Act I and the tender melodies of Act II with equal elan and sensitivity.”

- Timothy Hulsey, mystupiddog.blogspot (Charlottesville Reviews), 5/03

“ . . . she did full justice to the music, and cannot be praised too highly.”

- Martin Picker, C-Ville Weekly, 5/13/

“ . . . her astounding voice overwhelmed the room.”

- Mary Alice Blackwell, The Daily Progress (Charlottesville), 5/9/03