Erin Morley
Born (1980-10-11) October 11, 1980[1]
Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.
GenresOpera, classical
Occupation(s)Singer (coloratura soprano)
Years active2007–present
Websiteerinmorley.com

Erin Morley (born October 11, 1980) is an American operatic soprano.

Early years

Morley was born in Salt Lake City, Utah to David Palmer, a former singer in the Tabernacle Choir, and Elizabeth Palmer, a current concertmaster of the Salt Lake Symphony.[2] Her first professional singing engagements were with the Utah Symphony with Joseph Silverstein and with the Tabernacle Choir on their worldwide broadcast Music & the Spoken Word under the baton of Craig Jessop. Morley obtained her undergraduate voice degree from Eastman School of Music, her Master of Music voice degree from the Juilliard School, and her Artist Diploma from the Juilliard Opera Center.[2] Morley also trained at the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, the Ravinia Festival Steans Institute, and the Wolf Trap Opera Company.

Career

Morley has performed in New York's Carnegie Hall and Metropolitan Opera (Met), and Opéra National de Paris.[3] Morley's debut at the Met was as First Madrigal in Manon Lescaut in 2008.[4] Erin made her Santa Fe Opera debut in 2010 in The Magic Flute as the Queen of the Night and has sung many other roles with the company.

Morley's breakthrough career moment came when she stepped in at the last minute to sing Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier at the Metropolitan Opera during the 2013–2014 season, which was hailed as "a major success".[5] She has been described by The New York Times as a "limpid, fluid soprano", "silken clarity", and "needlepoint precision".[6][7] In September 2018 she made her debut, while being 34 weeks pregnant, in Debussy's Le Martyre de saint Sébastien with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin.[8]

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, Morley was set to sing the part of Sophie in Werther for the Met's music director, Yannick Nézet-Séguin.[9]

Personal life

Morley is married to John D. Morley, a Yale law professor, and they have three children.[3][10] She is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.[1]

Awards and honors

In 2007, she received the Florence & Paul DeRosa Prize from the Juilliard Opera Center. She won 1st prize in the Jessie Kneisel Lieder Competition in 2002, 1st place in the Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation Competition in 2006, 3rd place in London's Wigmore Hall International Song Competition in 2009, and received the Richard Tucker Career Grant in 2013.[2][7] The Met Opera production of Der Rosenkavalier, featuring Morley as Sophie, was nominated for the 2019 Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording.[11] In 2022, she shared a Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance for her work as a soloist in Mahler's Symphony No. 8, as performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under the direction of Gustavo Dudamel.[12]

Video

References

  1. 1 2 "Erin Morley", Latter-day Saint Musicians, 2016. Retrieved on 29 March 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 Burger, David. "Salt Lake City native and Brighton High grad Erin Morley wins big opera prize", The Salt Lake Tribune, 15 April 2013. Retrieved on 29 March 2021.
  3. 1 2 Baker, Celia R. "Erin Morley: From Utah to the Met", The Salt Lake Tribune, 28 October 2011. Retrieved on 29 March 2021.
  4. "Soprano Erin Morley", Metropolitan Opera, 2021. Retrieved on 29 March 2021.
  5. "Erin Morley Big Change", National Association of Teachers of Singing, 3 March 2021. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  6. da Fonseca-Wollheim, Corinna. "Believe in Eternity, or at Least 100 Years", The New York Times, 27 November 2013. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  7. 1 2 "The Scene: People: Erin Morley", Schmopera, 2016. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  8. Flanigan, Robin L. "An Operatic 'Trapeze Artist'", Rochester Review, Fall 2018. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  9. Woolfe, Zachary. "The Metropolitan Opera Season That Vanished", The New York Times, 13 May 2020. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  10. Petersons, Erik. "Artist Interview: Erin Morley", PCMS, 1 March 2019. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  11. Ruel, Chris. "Interview: Soprano Erin Morley’s Enriching Work-Life Balance", Opera Wire, 3 February 2019. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  12. "Eastman School of Music Alumni Win GRAMMY Awards". esm.rochester.edu. University of Rochester. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
  13. Eurydice (4 December 2021), Met Opera on Demand; CID:357519, Met Opera Archive.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.