Mezzo-soprano

Naomi Louisa O’Connell

Biography

Hailed by The New York Times as “radiant,” Naomi made her professional debut in 2012 starring on the West End in Terrence McNally’s play Master Class. Her work encompasses both theatrical and operatic repertoire, ranging from straight plays to operas, recitals and cabarets to sound installations. Operawire called her “a splendid singing actress” for her recent performances in INO’s 20 Shots of Opera. She created the role of Mrs Van Buren in Intimate Apparel at Lincoln Center Theater, a development of the Metropolitan Opera/Lincoln Center Theater commissioning program and slated to return to the stage in 2022. Other notable roles include the title role in Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea (Oper Frankfurt), Cherubino in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro (Welsh National Opera, Atlanta Opera), Offenbach’s La Périchole (Garsington Opera), Beaumarchais’s Rosine (McCarter Theatre), and Mélisande in Pelléas et Mélisande — both Maeterlinck’s play and Debussy’s opera — with the Cincinnati Symphony. Lauded by The New York Times as “a natural in the recital format” for her Carnegie Hall debut recital Witches, Bitches, and Women in Britches at Weill Recital Hall, she has performed in concert across the USA and has been broadcast on PBS, WQXR, Met LiveArts, BBC Radio 3, and RTÉ lyric fm. She was brought up in the Burren and studied in Ireland with Archie Simpson and Mary Brennan. She is a graduate of the Royal Irish Academy of Music and the Juilliard School, and is most grateful to be a professional storyteller.

April 2021