American mezzo-soprano IRENE ROBERTS’ 2012/13 season features a major milestone in the career of a young artist – her debut on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera. She appears in not one, but two operas there next season: the return of the beloved Jonathan Miller production of Le nozze di Figaro, and the Met’s new production of Wagner’s Parsifal, where she will appear alongside Jonas Kaufmann, René Pape, and Peter Mattei under the baton of Daniele Gatti. Parsifal will also be part of the Met’s 2012/13 Live in HD series, transmitting live performances from the Met into movie theaters worldwide. Her other engagements for the season include her role and house debut as Cherubino with the Syracuse Opera, and the cover of Suzy in La rondine at the Met.

Last season Roberts debuted in several prominent American opera houses, including a return to the role of Siébel in Lyric Opera Baltimore’s new production of Gounod’s Faust; the titular role in Carmen at Fresno Opera for both her role and house debut, which the Fresno Bee called “first rate...an intriguing blend of sex and steely determination”; and joining the roster of the Met as the cover of Stephano for Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette. The California native also returned to Townsend Opera for a run as Carmen, and to Palm Beach Opera, where she was a resident artist for two seasons, for performances as Suzuki in Madama Butterfly, which earned her acclaim for her “commanding, dark voice” (Palm Beach Post) and “beautifully rounded tone that is always on target” (ConcertoNet).

Roberts’ other engagements have included Siébel with the North Carolina Opera, Mahler’s Rückert-Lieder with the Duke University Orchestra, Amore in Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice at Palm Beach Opera, and two summer seasons at the Castleton Festival performing in Suor Angelica, The Beggar’s Opera, and covering Miss Jessel in The Turn of the Screw. She also made house and role debuts at the Townsend Opera in 2009 as Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia, and in 2008 as Suzuki at the Opera Western Reserve. During her time at Palm Beach Opera’s Young Artist Program, Roberts performed on the main stage as Emilia in Verdi’s Otello, Zerlina in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, and Mercédès in Carmen. Roberts also won 2nd prize in the Advanced Division at the 41st Annual Palm Beach Opera Vocal Competition.