As Queen of the Night with Connecticut Lyric Opera, November 2017 (Pamina, Abigail Krawczynska)
British soprano Letitia Stevens has been praised for her expressive performances, warm, rich tone and comic timing. She has just appeared as Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus with the opera training program, Lyric Opera Studio, Weimar (Germany). Last August she was Cleopatra in Handel’s Giulio Cesare with The Connecticut Virtuosi & Connecticut Lyric Opera. In March she gave a house concert in Groton, a program of Art song; in July she is planning recitals in France and Germany. In the last year she has been a semi-finalist in The American Prize, Talents of the World and Harold Haugh Light Opera, competitions. Will Crutchfield of Teatro Nuovo, a very well-respected Bel Canto Opera company recently remarked that he was “very impressed” with her performance.
Ms. Stevens recently returned to singing soprano, after many years singing mezzo-soprano: her first soprano role was Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflöte with Connecticut Lyric Opera in November 2017. Other roles include Prince Orlofsky, in Die Fledermaus with Opera 51, Benoit & Alcindoro in La femme boheme with MetroWest Opera, Second Woman and Spirit in Dido and Aeneas, with Polymnia Choral Society, the Witch in Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel, with Just love to Sing! (New Hampshire), 3rd Lady in Magic Flute with Manhattan Opera Studio, and Marcellina with Opera by the Bay, Commonwealth Lyric Opera and Riverside Theatre Works. She has also appeared as 2nd Lady, Cherubino, Giovanna in Rigoletto, L’Aurore in Elizabeth Claude Jacquet de la Guerre’s Cephale et Procris, Longy School of Music, the Charwoman and ensemble member in a musical production of A Christmas Carol with Anthem Theatre, and Eponine, with Opera by the Bay. Ms. Stevens was nominated, “Best Female Performer,” for her performance as Katisha with Dauntless Theatre, in their Unifest-winning production of The Mikado at the 2015 International Gilbert & Sullivan Festival, Harrogate, UK. Other Gilbert and Sullivan roles include Fairy Queen in Iolanthe, Cousin Hebe in HMS Pinafore, Edith in Pirates of Penzance, Lady Blanche and Melissa, in Princess Ida, and Mitera, a respected dryad, in The Forest of Eoren, (a Gilbert and Sullivan style operetta by Matthew Pinson.)
Ms. Stevens’ performance of Berlioz’ Les nuits d’été, with the Harvard Summer School Orchestra in July 2016, was praised as “cultured, expressive and eloquent.” In early 2013 she was delighted to cover and rehearse Urlicht from Mahler‘s 2nd Symphony, with the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra and Benjamin Zander. Other concert appearances include Weber’s Der Freischütz Mass, Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass, Mozart’s Requiem, Messiah, Bach’s Magnificat and Vivaldi’s Gloria.
Working with pianist Bonnie Donham, Ms. Stevens has presented recitals throughout the Boston area and in south-west France. They have made repeat performances at the Festival des Claviers en Poitou, L’Association a sauver L’Eglise Grandmontaine de Rauzet and La Tour St Jean, Marthon; venues to which they will return this summer.
Ms. Stevens has extensive experience as an ensemble member. She has been a member of the professional choir of the Church of the Advent since 2013, and alto section leader of the Parish Choir there since 2016 (with a six-month hiatus recently). She has also worked with the Handel and Haydn Society, Boston Baroque, Labyrinth Choir, Triad, Cappella Clausura, Orpheus Singers, Boston Academy of Music, the Philharmonia Chorus, of London, and the London Chamber Choir.
Ms. Stevens teaches voice, music theory and beginning piano. She holds a Master of Music in Vocal Performance, with distinction, from the Longy School of Music, Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she was an honors winner.
Ms. Stevens recently returned to singing soprano, after many years singing mezzo-soprano: her first soprano role was Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflöte with Connecticut Lyric Opera in November 2017. Other roles include Prince Orlofsky, in Die Fledermaus with Opera 51, Benoit & Alcindoro in La femme boheme with MetroWest Opera, Second Woman and Spirit in Dido and Aeneas, with Polymnia Choral Society, the Witch in Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel, with Just love to Sing! (New Hampshire), 3rd Lady in Magic Flute with Manhattan Opera Studio, and Marcellina with Opera by the Bay, Commonwealth Lyric Opera and Riverside Theatre Works. She has also appeared as 2nd Lady, Cherubino, Giovanna in Rigoletto, L’Aurore in Elizabeth Claude Jacquet de la Guerre’s Cephale et Procris, Longy School of Music, the Charwoman and ensemble member in a musical production of A Christmas Carol with Anthem Theatre, and Eponine, with Opera by the Bay. Ms. Stevens was nominated, “Best Female Performer,” for her performance as Katisha with Dauntless Theatre, in their Unifest-winning production of The Mikado at the 2015 International Gilbert & Sullivan Festival, Harrogate, UK. Other Gilbert and Sullivan roles include Fairy Queen in Iolanthe, Cousin Hebe in HMS Pinafore, Edith in Pirates of Penzance, Lady Blanche and Melissa, in Princess Ida, and Mitera, a respected dryad, in The Forest of Eoren, (a Gilbert and Sullivan style operetta by Matthew Pinson.)
Ms. Stevens’ performance of Berlioz’ Les nuits d’été, with the Harvard Summer School Orchestra in July 2016, was praised as “cultured, expressive and eloquent.” In early 2013 she was delighted to cover and rehearse Urlicht from Mahler‘s 2nd Symphony, with the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra and Benjamin Zander. Other concert appearances include Weber’s Der Freischütz Mass, Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass, Mozart’s Requiem, Messiah, Bach’s Magnificat and Vivaldi’s Gloria.
Working with pianist Bonnie Donham, Ms. Stevens has presented recitals throughout the Boston area and in south-west France. They have made repeat performances at the Festival des Claviers en Poitou, L’Association a sauver L’Eglise Grandmontaine de Rauzet and La Tour St Jean, Marthon; venues to which they will return this summer.
Ms. Stevens has extensive experience as an ensemble member. She has been a member of the professional choir of the Church of the Advent since 2013, and alto section leader of the Parish Choir there since 2016 (with a six-month hiatus recently). She has also worked with the Handel and Haydn Society, Boston Baroque, Labyrinth Choir, Triad, Cappella Clausura, Orpheus Singers, Boston Academy of Music, the Philharmonia Chorus, of London, and the London Chamber Choir.
Ms. Stevens teaches voice, music theory and beginning piano. She holds a Master of Music in Vocal Performance, with distinction, from the Longy School of Music, Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she was an honors winner.
