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Mary Dunleavy (born 1966) is an American soprano who has performed with major opera companies and orchestras around the world.


Life and career

Dunleavy grew up in
Montvale, New Jersey Montvale is a borough in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 7,844,"Focused on Her Game; OCP favorite Mary Dunleavy tackles a new Mozart role."
, ''
Philadelphia City Paper ''Philadelphia City Paper'' was an alternative weekly newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The independently owned paper was free and published every Thursday in print and daily online at citypaper.net. Staff reporters focused on labor issues, ...
'', May 4–10, 2006. Accessed December 11, 2013. "'Philadelphia feels like my second home,' smiles Mary Dunleavy over lunch in Bella Vista. The attractive, engaging soprano is a Jersey girl: She grew up in Montvale and now (aptly enough for one who has both Bellini's and Gounod's versions of Romeo and Juliet in her repertory) lives with her husband, Hal, in Verona."
and graduated from
Pascack Hills High School Pascack Hills High School (PHHS) is a four-year comprehensive public high school, one of two secondary schools serving students in ninth through twelfth grades as part of the Pascack Valley Regional High School District in Bergen County, Ne ...
in 1984. Dunleavy attended
Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...
for her undergraduate degrees and received a master's degree in Music at the
University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,07 ...
.Walkowski, Paul Joseph
"For soprano Mary Dunleavy, her stylish, virtuosic, gleaming, supple, voice has earned her a place among the opera notables of her generation."
, OperaOnline.us. Accessed October 15, 2007. "From grade school, on through Pascack Hills High in Montvale New Jersey, to Northwestern's school of music, to the University of Texas in 1988..."
She has studied with
Renata Scotto Renata Scotto (born 24 February 1934) is an Italian soprano and opera director. Recognized for her sense of style, her musicality, and as a remarkable singer-actress, Scotto is considered one of the preeminent singers of her generation. Since ...
,
Mignon Dunn Mignon Dunn (born June 17, 1928, in Memphis, Tennessee) is an American dramatic mezzo-soprano and voice teacher. Life and career Born in Memphis, Dunn grew up in Tyronza, Arkansas and Memphis, Tennessee. She studied voice with Karin Branzell an ...
, and
Rita Shane Rita Shane (August 15, 1936 – October 9, 2014) was an American coloratura soprano. Biography Born in the Bronx to Julius J. Shane and Rebekah (née Milner) Shane, Rita Shane studied at Barnard College and privately with voice teachers Beverly P ...
. In the United States, she has performed with the
Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is oper ...
,
San Francisco Opera San Francisco Opera (SFO) is an American opera company founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola (1881–1953) based in San Francisco, California. History Gaetano Merola (1923–1953) Merola's road to prominence in the Bay Area began in 1906 when h ...
,
Lyric Opera of Chicago Lyric Opera of Chicago is one of the leading opera companies in the United States. It was founded in Chicago in 1954, under the name 'Lyric Theatre of Chicago' by Carol Fox, Nicola Rescigno and Lawrence Kelly, with a season that included Maria ...
, Houston Grand Opera, Los Angeles Opera,
Washington National Opera The Washington National Opera (WNO) is an American opera company in Washington, D.C. Formerly the Opera Society of Washington and the Washington Opera, the company received Congressional designation as the National Opera Company in 2000. Perform ...
,
New York City Opera The New York City Opera (NYCO) is an American opera company located in Manhattan in New York City. The company has been active from 1943 through 2013 (when it filed for bankruptcy), and again since 2016 when it was revived. The opera company, du ...
, The Dallas Opera,
Opera Company of Philadelphia Opera Philadelphia (prior to 2013 Opera Company of Philadelphia (OCP)) is an American opera company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and is the city's only company producing grand opera. The organization produces one festival in September (Festival O ...
,
Opera Theatre of Saint Louis Opera Theatre of Saint Louis (OTSL) is an American summer opera festival held in St. Louis, Missouri. Typically four operas, all sung in English, are presented each season, which runs from late May to late June. Performances are accompanied by th ...
,
Boston Lyric Opera Boston Lyric Opera (BLO) is an American opera company based in Boston, Massachusetts, founded in 1976. BLO is the largest and longest-lived opera company in New England. BLO employs nearly 350 artists and creative professionals annually—vocalist ...
,
Portland Opera Portland Opera is an American opera company based at The Hampton Opera Center in Portland, Oregon. Its performances take place in the Keller Auditorium and Newmark Theatre, both part of the Portland Center for the Performing Arts. Portland Opera ...
, Lyric Opera of Kansas City,
Minnesota Opera Minnesota Opera is a performance organization based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was founded as the Center Opera Company in 1963 by the Walker Art Center, and is known for premiering such diverse works as ''Where the Wild Things Are'' by Oliver ...
,
Des Moines Metro Opera Des Moines Metro Opera is an opera company in Indianola, Iowa, a town of approximately 14,000 inhabitants which lies some south of Des Moines, Iowa. It was founded by Robert L. Larsen and Douglas Duncan in 1973. The director is Michael Egel. ...
and others. Mary also appears in Steven Spielberg's film ''
Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...
'' performing as Marguerite in ''
Faust Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroa ...
'' and in the independent short as Geraldine in
A Hand of Bridge ''A Hand of Bridge'', opus 35, is an opera in one act composed by Samuel Barber with libretto by Gian Carlo Menotti, and is possibly the shortest opera that is regularly performed: it lasts about nine minutes. It premiered as a part of Menotti' ...
. Outside the U.S., her operatic performances have been with
De Nederlandse Opera The Dutch National Opera (DNO; formerly De Nederlandse Opera, now De Nationale Opera in Dutch) is a Dutch opera company based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Its present home base is the Dutch National Opera & Ballet housed in the Stopera building, a m ...
(Amsterdam), Gran Teatro del Liceu (Barcelona),
Opéra National de Paris The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be ...
,
Teatro di San Carlo The Real Teatro di San Carlo ("Royal Theatre of Saint Charles"), as originally named by the Bourbon monarchy but today known simply as the Teatro (di) San Carlo, is an opera house in Naples, Italy, connected to the Royal Palace and adjacent ...
(Naples),
La Monnaie The Royal Theatre of La Monnaie (french: Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, italic=no, ; nl, Koninklijke Muntschouwburg, italic=no; both translating as the "Royal Theatre of the Mint") is an opera house in central Brussels, Belgium. The National O ...
(Brussels),
Municipal Theater of Santiago The Teatro Municipal, National Opera of Chile is the most important stage theatre and opera house in Santiago, Chile. History and overview The Chilean government ceded a significant parcel of land in downtown Santiago to the municipality, in 184 ...
,
Staatsoper Unter den Linden The (), also known as the Berlin State Opera (german: Staatsoper Berlin), is a listed building on Unter den Linden boulevard in the historic center of Berlin, Germany. The opera house was built by order of Prussian king Frederick the Great from ...
(Berlin),
Hamburgische Staatsoper The Hamburg State Opera (in German: Staatsoper Hamburg) is a German opera company based in Hamburg. Its theatre is near the square of Gänsemarkt. Since 2015, the current ''Intendant'' of the company is Georges Delnon, and the current ''Genera ...
, Opéra de Montréal,
Garsington Opera Garsington Opera is an annual summer opera festival founded in 1989 by Leonard Ingrams. The Philharmonia Orchestra and The English Concert are its two resident orchestras. For 21 years it was held in the gardens of Ingrams's home at Garsingto ...
and others. Orchestral appearances have been with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl under
Leonard Slatkin Leonard Edward Slatkin (born September 1, 1944) is an American conductor, author and composer. Early life and education Slatkin was born in Los Angeles to a Jewish musical family that came from areas of the Russian Empire now in Ukraine. His fat ...
,
Cincinnati May Festival The Cincinnati May Festival is a two-week annual choral festival, held in May in Cincinnati, Ohio, US. History The festival's roots go back to the 1840s, when '' Saengerfests'' were held in that city, bringing singers from all over the United St ...
with
James Conlon James Conlon (born March 18, 1950) is an American conductor. He is currently the music director of Los Angeles Opera, principal conductor of the RAI National Symphony Orchestra, and artistic advisor to the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Early ...
,
Ensemble Orchestral de Paris The Orchestre de chambre de Paris (OCP) is a French chamber orchestra based in Paris. The orchestra performs throughout Paris with concerts at the Philharmonie de Paris, where it is a resident ensemble, and also at such venues as the Théâtre de ...
under John Nelson,
St. Louis Symphony The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra based in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1880 by Joseph Otten as the St. Louis Choral Society, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO) is the second-oldest professional symphony or ...
under David Robertson and the late Hans Vonk, San Francisco Symphony under
Robert Spano Robert Spano ( ; born 7 May 1961, Conneaut, Ohio) is an American conductorDavidson, Justin. "CLASSICAL MUSIC: Looking for Magic: Mixing visuals and language into a performance is just part of conductor Robert Spano's pursuit of orchestral risk" ...
,
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO) is an American orchestra based in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. The ASO's main concert venue is Atlanta Symphony Hall in the Woodruff Arts Center. History Though earlier organizations bearing the same name date b ...
under
Donald Runnicles Sir Donald Cameron Runnicles OBE HonFRSE (born 16 November 1954, Edinburgh, Scotland) is a Scottish conductor. Life and career The son of William Runnicles, a director of a furniture supply company and a choirmaster and organist, and Christin ...
, Philadelphia Orchestra under Charles Dutoit, the Lanaudiere Festival under Jacques Lacombe, and others. Dunleavy has been a resident of
Verona, New Jersey Verona is a township in Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 14,572, an increase of 1,240 (+9.3%) from the 2010 census count of 13,332, which in turn reflected a dec ...
. She is a native of
Old Saybrook, Connecticut Old Saybrook is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 10,481 at the 2020 census. It contains the incorporated borough of Fenwick, as well as the census-designated places of Old Saybrook Center and Saybroo ...
.


Roles

Roles during her career have included: • Violetta — La Traviata
• Gilda —
Rigoletto ''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play '' Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had co ...

• Mimi —
La Boheme LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...

• Musetta —
La Boheme LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...

• Giulietta —
I Capuleti e i Montecchi ''I Capuleti e i Montecchi'' (''The Capulets and the Montagues'') is an Italian opera (''Tragedia lirica'') in two acts by Vincenzo Bellini. The libretto by Felice Romani was a reworking of the story of ''Romeo and Juliet'' for an opera by Nicol ...

• Adina — L'elisir d'amore
• Cio-Cio-San — Madama Butterfly
• Lucia —
Lucia di Lammermoor ''Lucia di Lammermoor'' () is a (tragic opera) in three acts by Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian-language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's 1819 historical novel '' The Bride of Lammermoo ...

• Pamina —
Die Zauberflöte ''The Magic Flute'' (German: , ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a ''Singspiel'', a popular form during the time it was written that includ ...

• Donna Anna — Don Giovanni
• Donna Elvira — Don Giovanni
• Konstanze —
Die Entführung aus dem Serail ' () ( K. 384; ''The Abduction from the Seraglio''; also known as ') is a singspiel in three acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The German libretto is by Gottlieb Stephanie, based on Christoph Friedrich Bretzner's ''Belmont und Constanze, oder Di ...

• Countess Almaviva —
Le nozze di Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' ( it, Le nozze di Figaro, links=no, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premie ...

• Susanna —
Le nozze di Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' ( it, Le nozze di Figaro, links=no, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premie ...

• Fiordiligi — Così fan tutte
• Thaïs —
Thaïs Thaïs or Thais ( el, Θαΐς; flourished 4th century BC) was a famous Greek ''hetaira'' who accompanied Alexander the Great on his campaigns. Likely from Athens, she is most famous for instigating the burning of Persepolis. At the time, Thaï ...

• Léïla — Les pêcheurs de perles
• Micaela — Carmen
• Hoffmann Heroines —
Les Contes d'Hoffmann ''The Tales of Hoffmann'' (French: ) is an by Jacques Offenbach. The French libretto was written by Jules Barbier, based on three short stories by E. T. A. Hoffmann, who is the protagonist of the story. It was Offenbach's final work; he died in ...

• Infanta Donna Clara -
Der Zwerg ''Der Zwerg'' (''The Dwarf''), Op. 17, is an opera in one act by Austrian composer Alexander von Zemlinsky to a libretto by Georg C. Klaren, freely adapted from the short story " The Birthday of the Infanta" by Oscar Wilde. Composition histor ...

• Christine Storch -
Intermezzo In music, an intermezzo (, , plural form: intermezzi), in the most general sense, is a composition which fits between other musical or dramatic entities, such as acts of a play or movements of a larger musical work. In music history, the term ha ...

• Adele -
Die Fledermaus ' (, ''The Flittermouse'' or ''The Bat'', sometimes called ''The Revenge of the Bat'') is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée, which premiered in 1874. Background The original li ...

• Rosalinde -
Die Fledermaus ' (, ''The Flittermouse'' or ''The Bat'', sometimes called ''The Revenge of the Bat'') is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée, which premiered in 1874. Background The original li ...

• Millicent Jordan - Dinner at Eight
• Stepmother - Alma Deutscher's Cinderella
• Isabella Stewart Gardner -
American Apollo The ''American Apollo'' (January 6, 1792 - December 25, 1794) was a newspaper published in Boston, Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ...

From 1994 through 2002, she sang the Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflöte in 84 performances. She retired the role in 2002. In 2006, she became only the third woman to sing both Pamina and the Queen of the Night for the Metropolitan Opera (
Lucia Popp Lucia Popp (born Lucia Poppová; 12 November 193916 November 1993) was a Slovak operatic soprano. She began her career as a soubrette, and later moved into the light-lyric and lyric coloratura soprano repertoire and then the lighter Richard Str ...
and Colette Boky preceded her).


Awards

*Maria Callas Debut Artist of the Year, The Dallas Opera, 2006 *Outstanding Young Texas Exes Award, The University of Texas at Austin, 2006 *Cultural Award, American-Irish Historical Society, 2004 *Top 100 List, Irish America Magazine, 2003, 2005


References


External links


Mary Dunleavy website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunleavy, Mary Living people American operatic sopranos Bienen School of Music alumni Pascack Hills High School alumni People from Montvale, New Jersey People from Verona, New Jersey Moody College of Communication alumni 1966 births People from Old Saybrook, Connecticut Singers from New Jersey Classical musicians from New Jersey