Lyric mezzo soprano, Emma Sorenson, is currently based in Chicago. Ms. Sorenson was a recent semifinalist in the Lotte Lenya competition hosted by the Kurt Weill Instituted. She also won first place in the Kansas City District Metropolitan Opera Auditions. In the 2019/2020 season, Ms. Sorenson will be featured in her first season as a Chorister at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, associate member of the Chicago Symphony Chorus, ensemble at Chicago Opera Theater and will be reprising her role in the ensemble quartet and understudy for Old Lady in The Knight’s Orchestra’s production of Bernstein’s Candide at the Ravinia Music Festival.
In previous Chicago seasons, Emma sang the role of Stasi in her debut with Chicago Folk's Operetta in their production of The Csardas Princess, covered the role of Laura in Chicago Opera Theater’s production of Tchaikovsky’s Iolantha, played Jill All Alone in the Gilbert & Sullivan Company of Chicago’s Merrie England, and Isabelle Eberhardt in Chicago Fringe Opera's critically acclaimed production of Missy Mazzoli's Song from the Uproar: the Lives and Deaths of Isabelle Eberhardt. Critics praised Emma as a "striking and graceful presence, [she] sang with an attractive, flexible voice and brought strong dramatic engagement throughout, from Isabelle’s joy at discovering Islam, to her pain and anger at a lover’s betrayal, and solace and resignation at her death."
Ms. Sorenson recently returned to Boston Lyric Opera to perform the role of “Girl” & ensemble work in their critically acclaimed production of The Handmaid’s Tale, which Margaret Attwood attended. Ms. Sorenson is a graduate of the Boston Lyric Opera’s Emerging Artist program. She debuted with the company as a featured artist in their Art in Bloom series at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and has since appeared as Frou Frou in their production of The Merry Widow and Bridesmaid in Le Nozze di Figaro. While in Boston, she has also performed several mainstage roles with The Boston Conservatory including the role of Lucretia in The Rape of Lucretia by Benjamin Britten, Dritte Dame in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, Zulma (and Isabella cover) in Rossini's L'italiana in Algeri, and most recently Baba the Turk in The Rake's Progress by Igor Stravinsky. Previously, Ms. Sorenson was engaged as a returning Apprentice Artist with Des Moines Metro Opera where she sang the role of Javotte in Massenet's Manon. Last season she was featured in the part of a Flower in La Hija de Rappaccini by Catan.
Ms. Sorenson is the winner of the 2019, and the recipient of the 2016 Encouragement Award at the Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions in the St Louis district, and previously won the Ileana Ingraham Encouragement Award at the auditions in the Kansas City district. Ms. Sorenson also won first place for the second consecutive year in her age group in the tri-state Midwest National Association of Teachers of Singing competition and is the two-time recipient of the James Moroney Nigh Opera Scholarship. Emma graduated with a Master of Music performance degree from The Boston Conservatory under the tutelage of Dr. Rebecca Folsom.