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CATHERINE MARTIN
MEZZO-SOPRANO
BIOGRAPHY
Praised by The Washington Post for her “gorgeous, warm voice that you want to keep listening to,” American mezzo-soprano Catherine Martin continues to make an impact in repertoire ranging from Verdi and Wagner to Strauss and Bellini. Last season, she returned to The Metropolitan Opera to cover Helen Prejean in Dead Man Walking and Preziosilla in La forza del destino. She made her Atlanta Opera début as Waltraute in Die Walküre, and she returned to Des Moines Metro Opera to sing Geneviève in Pelléas et Mélisande. This season, she returns to the Met to cover Giulietta in Les contes d’Hoffmann and The Atlanta Opera to sing Juno in Semele, and she joins the Sacramento Philharmonic to sing Santuzza in Cavalleria rusticana and Detroit Opera to sing the District Attorney in The Central Park Five.
Highlights from recent seasons include her role debut as Fricka in Dayton Opera’s Das Rheingold; Santuzza in Cavalleria rusticana with Opera Colorado; her return to Lyric Opera of Chicago to cover Eboli in Don Carlos; Maryland Lyric Opera as Mistress Quickly in Falstaff, Des Moines Metro Opera as Clarice in The Love for Three Oranges; Marguerite (cover) in Berlioz’s Le damnation de Faust with The Metropolitan Opera; Eboli in Don Carlos with Maryland Lyric Opera; Orfeo in Orfeo ed Eurydice with Kentucky Opera; Witch in Hansel and Gretel with Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra; Waltraute in Twilight: Gods with Michigan Opera Theatre and Lyric Opera of Chicago; performances in various roles from Wagner’s Ring Cycle with Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera, Washington National Opera, Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood, the Dallas Symphony, and National Taichung Theatre in Taiwan; Amneris in Aïda with Houston Grand Opera, Opera Carolina, Opera Colorado, and Opera Santa Barbara; Adalgisa in Norma with Florida Grand Opera; Der Komponist in Ariadne auf Naxos at The Glimmerglass Festival; Hécube and covering Didon in Les Troyens with Lyric Opera of Chicago; Maddalena in Rigoletto with New Orleans Opera and Opera Santa Barbara; Herodias in Salome with Dayton Opera; Meg in Falstaff with Intermountain Opera; Leonora in La favorita with New Amsterdam Opera; Wowkle in La fanciulla del West with Maryland Lyric Opera; Annina and the cover of Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier with the National Symphony Orchestra; Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen with the American Youth Philharmonic Orchestra; and Messiah with the Handel Oratorio Society.
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CRITICAL ACCLAIM
"... vocal power and richness..." – DC Theater Arts
Falstaff – "Martin displays probably the most subtle and effective physical acting of any member of the cast while impressing with her vocal power and richness."
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"... unleashing a wave of sound..." – Washington Classical Review
Don Carlo – "Mezzo-soprano Catherine Martin, remembered fondly from her time in WNO’s Cafritz Young Artists program, made a fiery Princess Eboli. She was flirtatious in her “Veil Song” and then just as venomous when she learned she was not loved by Carlos, unleashing a wave of sound in the striking Act II scene with Carlo and Rodrigo. Her Act III showpiece, “O don fatale,” featured blistering high notes of rage.”
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"... her buttery, rich mezzo-soprano..." – Opera News
Twighlight: Gods – "Catherine Martin, as Waltraute, detailed Wotan's deterioration in her buttery, rich mezzo-soprano. . . Martin sang with fearless intimacy, masterful vocal integrity and the flawless diction that was this production's hallmark."
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"... a thoroughly convincing and beautifully sung performance..." – Minnesota Star Tribune
Dead Man Walking – “It's hard to imagine a stronger or more dramatically apt cast. . . Catherine Martin's Sister Helen displays a similar kaleidoscope of emotions in a thoroughly convincing and beautifully sung performance.”
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"... Martin was an exceptional talent..." – BachTrack
The Long Christmas Dinner – “Catherine Martin was an exceptional talent whose lush overtones gave rise to a sound that resonated to all parts of the hall. Undoubtedly capable of doing great justice to Wagner, Martin carried her part tastefully in the more intimate setting.”
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"... the terrific Catherine Martin..." – The Washington Post
Ariadne auf Naxos – “the terrific Catherine Martin, a mezzo familiar to Washington audiences who sang with assurance and a firm, golden voice."