Mary Elizabeth Williams - Soprano

Mary Elizabeth's mother has always maintained that her daughter started singing before she could talk, but that might be a slight overstatement. At any rate, Mary Elizabeth started very early because of a musical family, nurturing
music teachers in school, and a natural passion for making noise. She was very lucky to be raised
in the First Baptist Church of Philadelphia, where her first vocal coach, the late Jon Spong (long-
time recital accompanist to acclaimed baritone Sherrill Milnes) was the organist and choir director.
She started singing in the church choir at the age of ten, and was the only child participant.
She was probably quite annoying to all the grown-ups there, especially the paid professionals,
but Ms. Williams credits those years singing next to trained, talented singers as one of the principal
reasons she is having a career today.

Twenty years later, it's hard to judge just how all the small steps she's taken
have influenced her blossoming career; she feels very fortunate to have sung and
studied at Luther College (Decorah, IA) under the baton of Weston Noble,
one of the country's most-beloved choir directors. It was through
him that she solidified her love of text and learned how to
communicate emotion to her audience. Mary Elizabeth's
year-long stint with the Broadway touring company of
ShowBoat felt like a huge digression at the time, but she now sees that without it she never would have met her voice teacher, Dr. Constance Haas, or realized that her true passion was for opera. She went to France in 2002 out of desperation and joined the young artist program at the Opera National de Paris, because she was having trouble finding a place in America to fit in with her then immature but impressive Verdian sound. Now she realizes how lucky she was to spend two years in the City of Lights, learning and growing in one of the most respected opera houses in the world, listening to the best singers around today. She still misses all those free opera and ballet tickets she was given as a young artist...What a season of growth it's been, though, for the young artist turned professional. Around every corner, it's seemed, a new and interesting challenge awaits Ms. Williams.

After 4 seasons of singing professionally, Ms. Williams has already debuted three grand dames of opera: Aida, Tosca and Leonora, from Il Trovatore. The role of Leonora has gotten to be a staple these days; she has performed it every season since 2007. Williams made her role and house debut in Il Trovatore with Kentucky Opera in 2007, and in 2008, on the very same set, only this time on a stage in Indianapolis! Last winter, Mary Elizabeth was honored to sing Leonora a third time with the Seattle Opera. She looks forward to continuting her Trovatore tradition in New Orleans in the Spring of 2011. Ms. Williams is also happy to report that she has more performances of Aida and Tosca on her calendar, in 2012 and beyond.

Ms. Williams is spending the Fall of 2010 auditioning and studying in Europe. She is excited to have the time to explore performance opportunities abroad, and hopes that she will have lots of fruitful experiences that will both inform her performances and enrich her life as an artist. Stay tuned for updates on her blog!

Mary Elizabeth may still be young, but she's been around long enough to have learned this: a singer's greatest joy is singing, and she is grateful that she is given more opportunities every year to indulge herself with her passion.