Kelley O'Connor
Encyclopedia
Kelley O'Connor is an American mezzo-soprano
. She earned her Bachelor of Music degree from Thornton School of Music
at the University of Southern California
and her Masters' degree in Music from the University of California, Los Angeles
.
O'Connor has championed the music of several contemporary composers, including Osvaldo Golijov
, Peter Lieberson
and Steven Stucky
. She sang the role of Federico García Lorca
in the original version of Golijov's opera Ainadamar
at the Tanglewood
Festival in 2003, and subsequently in the revised version produced at Santa Fe Opera
in 2005. O'Connor sang the role of García Lorca on the Deutsche Grammophon
recording of Ainadamar, which won a Grammy award.
Lieberson chose O'Connor as the first mezzo-soprano to sing his composition Neruda Songs live in concert after the death of his wife, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson
, for whom he had originally composed the song cycle. O'Connor first sang Neruda Songs in Chicago and subsequently in New York City in 2008. O'Connor's other work in contemporary music has included singing the part of Mrs Goodman in the premiere of the oratorio August 4, 1964 by Steven Stucky
in Dallas.
Mezzo-soprano
A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...
. She earned her Bachelor of Music degree from Thornton School of Music
USC Thornton School of Music
The University of Southern California Thornton School of Music, founded in 1884 and dedicated in 1999, is one of the premier music schools in the United States...
at the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
and her Masters' degree in Music from the University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
.
O'Connor has championed the music of several contemporary composers, including Osvaldo Golijov
Osvaldo Golijov
Osvaldo Noé Golijov is a Grammy award–winning composer of classical music.-Biography:Osvaldo Golijov was born in and grew up in La Plata, Argentina, in a Jewish family that had emigrated to Argentina in the 1920s from Romania and Russia.Golijov has developed a rich musical language, the result of...
, Peter Lieberson
Peter Lieberson
Peter Lieberson was an American composer. He was ballerina and choreographer Vera Zorina and Goddard Lieberson, president of Columbia Records....
and Steven Stucky
Steven Stucky
Steven Stucky is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer.Stucky was born in Hutchinson, Kansas. At age 9, he moved with his family to Abilene, Texas, where, as a teenager, he studied music in the public schools and, privately, viola with Herbert Preston, conducting with Leo Scheer, and...
. She sang the role of Federico García Lorca
Federico García Lorca
Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca was a Spanish poet, dramatist and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblematic member of the Generation of '27. He is believed to be one of thousands who were summarily shot by anti-communist death squads...
in the original version of Golijov's opera Ainadamar
Ainadamar
Ainadamar means "Fountain of Tears" in Arabic, and is the first opera by Argentinian composer Osvaldo Golijov. The libretto is by American playwright David Henry Hwang. It premiered in Tanglewood on August 10, 2003. After major revisions, the new version premiered at the Santa Fe Opera on July 30,...
at the Tanglewood
Tanglewood
Tanglewood is an estate and music venue in Lenox and Stockbridge, Massachusetts. It is the home of the annual summer Tanglewood Music Festival and the Tanglewood Jazz Festival, and has been the Boston Symphony Orchestra's summer home since 1937. It was the venue of the Berkshire Festival.- History...
Festival in 2003, and subsequently in the revised version produced at Santa Fe Opera
Santa Fe Opera
The Santa Fe Opera is an American opera company, located north of Santa Fe in the U.S. state of New Mexico, headquartered on a former guest ranch of .-General history:...
in 2005. O'Connor sang the role of García Lorca on the Deutsche Grammophon
Deutsche Grammophon
Deutsche Grammophon is a German classical record label which was the foundation of the future corporation to be known as PolyGram. It is now part of Universal Music Group since its acquisition and absorption of PolyGram in 1999, and it is also UMG's oldest active label...
recording of Ainadamar, which won a Grammy award.
Lieberson chose O'Connor as the first mezzo-soprano to sing his composition Neruda Songs live in concert after the death of his wife, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson
Lorraine Hunt Lieberson
Lorraine Hunt Lieberson was an American mezzo-soprano, known for the dramatic power of her vocal artistry as well as her commitment to performing infrequently-heard Baroque era and contemporary works...
, for whom he had originally composed the song cycle. O'Connor first sang Neruda Songs in Chicago and subsequently in New York City in 2008. O'Connor's other work in contemporary music has included singing the part of Mrs Goodman in the premiere of the oratorio August 4, 1964 by Steven Stucky
Steven Stucky
Steven Stucky is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer.Stucky was born in Hutchinson, Kansas. At age 9, he moved with his family to Abilene, Texas, where, as a teenager, he studied music in the public schools and, privately, viola with Herbert Preston, conducting with Leo Scheer, and...
in Dallas.