Sydney Mancasola

Mancasola’s notable opera debuts have included her house and role debut as Adina in Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’amore at the Opéra National de Paris, her company debut at the Metropolitan Opera as Pamina in Mozart’s The Magic Flute, as well as her debut as Bess in a new production Mazzoli’s of Breaking the Waves at the Adelaide Festival Centre in Australia and Edinburgh International Festival, where she was awarded a Herald Angel for her performance. She made her European debut with Komische Oper Berlin as the heroines in Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann, subsequently returning to the house as Cleopatra in Handel’s Giulio Cesare, Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, title role in Handel’s Semele and Eurydice in Offenbach’s Orpheus in der Unterwelt.

Last season Mancasola made her house and role debut as Marzelline in Beethoven’s Fidelio with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, her house debut at Dutch National Opera as Adele in Barrie Kosky’s production of Strauss’s Die Fledermaus, as well as debuts at the Opera Nice Côte d’Azur as Pamina and at the Seji Ozawa Matsumoto Festival in Japan as Tytania in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, reprising the role she performed the previous season in her company debuts at both the Fondazione Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa, Italy, and at the Royal Opera House Muscat. Further recent opera highlights include the title role in Matthew Aucoin’s Eurydice in a new arrangement of the work for Boston Lyric Opera, a return to the Metropolitan Opera as Frasquita in a new production of Carmen, and appearing as Mélisande Pelléas et Mélisande at Des Moines Metro Opera.

Mancasola’s recent concert performances include Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 at the Palau de les Arts, Valencia, Haydn’s Die Schöpfung for her Italian debut with the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale RAI conducted by James Conlon, and with the Eugene Symphony Orchestra; Handel’s Messiah with the Santa Fe Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, Lexington Philharmonic and with the Philadelphia Orchestra under the direction of Michael Rossi; Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 with the Sun Valley Symphony; and Orff’s Carmina Burana, Mendelssohn’s Hear My Prayer and Strauss’s Brentano-Lieder with the Santa Fe Symphony.

Honours and awards include Grand Finals winner of the 2013 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, winner of the 2016 Mabel Dorn Reeder Foundation Prize from Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Top Prize Winner of the Gerda Lissner Foundation Competition, 2nd Prize and Audience Favourite at the Houston Grand Opera Eleanor McCollum Competition, and 1st Prize in the Loren L. Zachary National Vocal Competition. Mancasola is an alumna of the Academy of Vocal Arts, Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Program, where she received the Judith Raskin Memorial Award for Singers, the Gerdine Young Artist program at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis and the Brevard Music Center.

Mancasola opens her 2025/26 season with a return to the Metropolitan Opera as Lisa in a new production of Bellini’s La Sonnambula, directed by Rolando Villazón and conducted by Riccardo Frizza. Other operatic highlights include Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro for Atlanta Opera directed by Stephen Lawless, and Pamina in Barrie Kosky’s production of The Magic Flute conducted by James Conlon in his final performance as Music Director of the Los Angeles Opera. Mancasola also returns to the Lyric Opera of Chicago with the Lyric Opera Orchestra and Chorus in a new alt-rock commission by Billy Corgan entitled A Night of Mellon Collie and infinite Sadness, celebrating the 30th anniversary of Corgan’s groundbreaking album as frontman and founder of the Smashing Pumpkins. Other concert appearances include Brahms Requiem with the Amarillo Symphony Orchestra conducted by George Jackson.

2024/25 season / 734 words. Not to be altered without permission.