Soprano Mary Dunleavy treats ArtsPass to selections from "La Traviata" and shares the musical journey to her leading roles on the stages of the world's foremost opera companies. WATCH MARY'S INTERVIEW AND PERFORMANCE Soprano Mary Dunleavy is an exciting voice in the world of lyric coloratura sopranos. Her 2006-2007 season has given her the opportunity to return to three of her favorite and most critically-acclaimed roles. She has returned to the Metropolitan Opera for another run of performance as Violetta in La Traviata, her signature role. In the fall of 2006, she appeared in the San Francisco Opera's Rigoletto, as Gilde, and in May 2007 she will sing Pamina in Die Zauberflöte with Portland Opera. The 2005-06 season began with her company debut at The Dallas Opera, where she tackled all four heroines in Offenbach's Les contes d'Hoffmann. She then joined the St. Louis Symphony for Handel's Messiah, conducted by David Robertson in his inaugural season as Music Director. At the Metropolitan Opera, she appeared in two contrasting roles: Pamina in the Julie Taymor production of Die Zauberflöte, and Violetta in La traviata. She added a new role to her Mozart repertoire, Countess Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro for her return to the Opera Company of Philadelphia, and then made her debut with the Cincinnati May Festival as Konstanze in Die Entführung aus dem Serail with James Conlon on the podium. A debut at the Hollywood Bowl followed with Leonard Slatkin and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, singing Mozart arias in Amadeus Live, a performance of scenes from the Peter Shaffer play. Among Mary's earlier career highlights are: Violetta at Barcelona's Gran Teatre del Liceu, New York City Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and with the Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest; Gilda at the Metropolitan Opera, Hamburgische Staatsoper, Teatro Municipal de Santiago, and Opera Pacific; Konstanze with the Ensemble Orchestral de Paris, Washington National Opera, NYCO and Opera Company of Philadelphia; Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte in Philadelphia; Donna Anna in Don Giovanni with Michigan Opera Theatre; Pamina with Boston Lyric Opera; Giunia in Lucio Silla at De Nederlandse Opera; Adele in Die Fledermaus with the Opéra National de Paris; Micaëla in Carmen at the Metropolitan Opera, De Nederlandse and Pittsburgh Operas; Ophélie in Hamlet at Gran Teatre del Liceu; Léïla with NYCO, Opera Company of Philadelphia, and Opera Theatre of Saint Louis; the title role in Thaïs with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis; Olympia and Antonia in Les contes d'Hoffmann at the Met; Héro in Béatrice et Bénédict in Amsterdam; Adina in L'elisir d'amore at Naples' Teatro di San Carlo and Portland Opera; Giulietta in I Capuleti e i Montecchi at NYCO; Amina in La Sonnambula in Bilbao; and the title-role in Lucia di Lammermoor with L'Opéra de Montréal and Connecticut Opera. Her Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflöte, a role which she retired in 2002, was heard at the Met, Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco, Washington, Houston Grand Opera, Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin, Amsterdam, Aix-en-Provence, Montréal and NYCO. Mary's orchestral appearances have included: Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with the Atlanta Symphony, (available on Telarc, Donald Runnicles conducting), the Teatro Municipal de Santiago, and the St. Louis Symphony. With the latter, she also performed Mozart concert arias under the late Hans Vonk. In addition, she has been heard in: Britten's Spring Symphony with the San Francisco Symphony under Robert Spano; Carmina Burana with the Philadelphia Orchestra under Charles Dutoit; Mahler's Symphony No. 8 with the New York Choral Society, and at the Lanaudière Festival singing a selection of arias with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal under Jacques Lacombe broadcast on the CBC, and then later singing a concert of duets with Jennifer Larmore and Les Violins du Roy. Mary was born in Connecticut and raised in New Jersey.
She received her undergraduate degree from Northwestern
University and earned her Master's Degree in Music at the
University of Texas at Austin, where she frequently
returns to give Master Classes. In 2006, she was named one
of four Outstanding Young Texas Exes by the University.
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