About this Artist
A 2019 Richard Tucker Foundation career grant recipient, American soprano Laura Wilde has been praised by Opera News as having, “a ravishingly beautiful sound, [and] a fine sense of style and character.” In the 2019/20 season, Ms. Wilde will return to the Lyric Opera of Chicago as Sieglinde in Die Walküre, as well as Freia, Ortlinde and the Third Norn for the full Ring Cycle with Sir Andrew Davis. She will also appear at Staatstheater Stuttgart as Agathe in Der Freischütz and in her role debut as Marguerite in Faust, Arizona Opera as Mamah Cheney in the world premiere of Daron Hagen’s Shining Brow, a snapshot of Frank Lloyd Wright’s life in the early 20th century, and at the Berkshire Opera Festival in her role debut as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni. In concert, she will make her Australian debut as Gretel in Hänsel und Gretel with Sir Andrew Davis and the Melbourne Symphony, and give a solo recital with Craig Terry at the Marcus Center in Milwaukee.
Highlights of recent seasons include the title role in Janáček’s Jenůfa with the Santa Fe Opera and English National Opera, Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte and Agathe at Staatstheater Stuttgart, the title role of Káťa Kabanová with Scottish Opera, Freia, Ortlinde and the cover of Sieglinde in Das Rheingold and Die Walküre, respectively, part of David Pountney’s new Ring Cycle conducted by Sir Andrew Davis at Lyric Opera of Chicago, Gretel with Sir Andrew Davis at the Edinburgh Festival, The Dallas Opera as Laura in Korngold’s rarely performed one-act opera Der Ring des Polykrates, Micaëla in Carmen with Nashville Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis as Vitellia in La Clemenza di Tito, Jane Withersteen in the world premiere of Craig Bohmler’s Riders of the Purple Sage at Arizona Opera as well as Freia, and the Foreign Princess in Rusalka with Des Moines Metro Opera.
In concert, Ms. Wilde has shared the stage with mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe and baritone Quinn Kelsey in the inaugural season of Beyond the Aria recital series at Chicago’s Harris Theater, accompanied by Craig Terry. She has presented a solo recital and masterclass at South Dakota State University, also with Craig Terry, and sung Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Charlotte Symphony and Strauss’ Vier letzte Lieder with the Elgin Symphony in Illinois.
As a member of the Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Ms. Wilde covered Renée Fleming in Capriccio and the role of Marta in The Passenger, performed Marianne Leitmetzerin in Der Rosenkavalier and covered Marschallin. She also covered the Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro, Hanna in The Merry Widow and sang the role of Anna in Nabucco. She also appeared on the mainstage as Kate Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly and a Flower Maiden in Parsifal. Additionally, she covered the roles of Berta in Il barbiere di Siviglia, the Foreign Princess in Rusalka, and Vitellia in La clemenza di Tito. In the summer of 2015, Wilde sang the role of Lucy in Grant Park Music Festival’s concert performance of Menotti’s The Telephone.
Originally from Watertown, South Dakota, Wilde’s love of music began with the trumpet. While attending the prestigious Interlochen Arts Camp as a trumpet player, she discovered her classical voice and was encouraged to pursue that musical avenue as well. She attended St. Olaf College for her undergraduate degree, focusing first on trumpet performance. Singing, however, became her true musical passion, and she graduated with a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance. Ms. Wilde earned her Master of Music degree from Indiana University, where she studied with Costanza Cuccaro. She is a winner of a 2018 Mabel Dorn Reeder Foundation Award from Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, 2017 Sullivan Grant award winner, 2016 Sara Tucker Study Grant from the Richard Tucker Foundation, the 2016 Luminarts Women’s Voice Fellowship, the 2015 Jerome and Elaine Nerenberg Award, and the 2015 Musicians Club of Women Eleanor Pearce Sherwin Award from the American Opera Society of Chicago. She currently resides in Chicago.