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Praised for her ‘pure, lustrous voice’ and ‘Lucille Ball-like energy,’ soprano Sarah Callinan has performed a wide variety of operatic and musical theater roles. Some favorites include Despina (Cosi Fan Tutte) with Opera Carolina, Blondchen (Die Entführung aus dem Serail) with Arizona Opera, Rosina (Il Barbiere di Siviglia) and the title role in La Fille du Régiment with Connecticut Concert Opera, Gilda (Rigoletto) and Amina (La Sonnambula) with Salt Marsh Opera, Norina (Don Pasquale) and Valencienne (The Merry Widow) with Cape Cod Opera. Most recently she sang the role of Blondie in the “Star Trek” production of The Abduction from the Seraglio with Salt Marsh Opera, she appeared in the Texas premiere of The Hotel Casablanca as Veronique with Abilene Opera, and sang the role of Marianne in The New Moon and Helen de Vazquez in Victor Herbert’s Orange Blossoms with Light Opera of New York. A recording of Orange Blossoms was released in 2015 on the Albany Records label.
Other recent noted engagements include Frasquita (Carmen) with Opera New Jersey and Michigan Opera Theater; Adele (Die Fledermaus) with Mississippi Opera and Salt Marsh Opera; Mabel (Pirates of Penzance) with Festival South and Mercury Opera Rochester; Queen of the Night (The Magic Flute) with Salt Marsh Opera and the Boston Lyric Opera Tour; Susanna (Le Nozze di Figaro) with Mississippi Opera; the title role in Lakmé and Monica/Girl (The Medium/Trouble in Tahiti) with Connecticut Concert Opera and multiple performances with the former Connecticut Opera including Frasquita in Carmen, Gianetta in L’Elisir d’Amore, Elvira in L’Italiana in Algeri, Nella in Gianni Schicchi, Despina in Così Fan Tutte, Blondchen in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, and Zerlina in Don Giovanni.
Among her many concert performances, she has performed as soprano soloist in the Verdi Requiem with The Chorus of Westerly as well as Capella Cantorum; Samson, Carmina Burana, and Rutter’s Mass of the Children with the Falmouth Chorale; Mozart’s Coronation Mass and Vesperae Solennes de Confessore as well as Faure’s Requiem with the Farmington Valley Chorale, and has appeared in several concert events with the Hartford Symphony. Last season, she sang with the Massachusetts Symphony Orchestra for both their Holiday Concert and their Magically Mozart Concert in the Park. She is a frequent guest soloist with Dan Gabel and The Abletones (an authentic 18-piece Big Band) and The High Society Orchestra, performing hot jazz from the 1920s. Ms. Callinan is also the leader of the new Moon Maids, a vocal group that was originally founded in 1945 and performed with Vaughn Monroe and his orchestra.
Ms. Callinan made her first international appearance after winning the Jenny Lind Competition, which included a recital tour in Sweden. She is a Metropolitan Opera National Council Audition Regional Finalist and was also awarded first prize in the Connecticut Opera Guild Competition, first prize winner and winner of the “Most Promising Coloratura” award in the Amici Competition with Opera Theater of Connecticut, a finalist in the Bel Canto Vocal Scholarship Competition, finalist in the Mezzo Opera Competition in Szeged, Hungary and most recently, won second prize at the Peter Elvins Vocal Competition.
Ms. Callinan, a native of Worcester, MA, attended the Hartt School of Music, graduated Magna cum laude from the University of Connecticut with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Music and a Performer’s Certificate in Voice. In addition to her performance schedule, she is also the Choral Director, Theater Arts teacher, and private voice instructor at her alma mater, Holy Name High School.
