Erin Wall

• Soprano

Biography

Erin Wall 2009/2010 season sees her debut with two major European companies, the Bavarian State Opera and the Vienna State Opera, in what has steadily become her signature-role: Donna Anna in Don Giovanni. Ms. Wall makes two important role debuts this season, first as the Countess in Strauss’ Capriccio with Pacific Opera Victoria and then as the four heroines . . . in Offenbach’s Tales of Hoffmann with the Santa Fe Opera. In concert, she returns to the San Francisco Symphony in concerts of Holloway’s Clarissa Sequence and Mozart’s Bella mia fiamma as well as in Berg’s Lulu Suite, followed by the Soprano II solos in Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 with the National Arts Centre Orchestra, both in Ottawa and in Montreal. Ms. Wall also takes part in the festivities opening the new Koerner Hall at Toronto’s Royal Conservatory of Music by singing Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy. Future engagements include returns to the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Vancouver Opera and as well as a debut with the Canadian Opera Company, all in leading roles.

Ms. Wall’s past season included her debuts with the Metropolitan Opera as Donna Anna in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, La Scala as Helena in Britten’s Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Los Angeles Opera as Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, along with a return to her home company, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, in a new role, Konstanze, in a new production of Mozart’s Entführung aus dem Serail. In concert, Erin Wall appeared on three different programs with the San Francisco Symphony; first as the soprano solo in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 (one of the concerts taking place at Carnegie Hall), then in Barber’s Knoxville, Summer of 1915 and finally as the Soprano I in Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 in performances that have since been commercial released. Other concert engagements included a program of Fauré and Strauss with the Calgary Philharmonic and Musetta in concert performances of La Bohème with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.

Erin Wall’s 2007-2008 opera season started with Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, at the Washington Opera, followed by two new roles: Love Simpson in Carlisle Floyd’s Cold Sassy Tree with the Atlanta Opera and Violetta in La Traviata with the Arizona Opera and Michigan Opera Theatre. In concert, Ms. Wall appeared in an Operatic Gala with Ben Heppner at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, then as Soprano II in Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 with Christoph Eschenbach and the Orchestre de Paris. Erin Wall’s recording of this piece with Pierre Boulez and the Staatskapelle Berlin was also released by Deutsche Grammophon. Finally, Ms. Wall made her Houston Symphony debut as the Soprano Solo in Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with Hans Graf conducting.

Ms.Wall’s 2006-2007 season opened with the Soprano I in Mahler’s 8th Symphony on a European tour with the San Francisco Symphony and Michael Tilson Thomas. The soprano then went to Paris and Vienna for Così Fan Tutte in the Patrice Chéreau production, which is now available commercially on a Virgin DVD. After a holiday concert in Ottawa and Messiah in Edmonton, Canada, Erin Wall returned to the Lyric Opera of Chicago for a new production of Così Fan Tutte. Her next Mozart role was the Countess in Nozze di Figaro with the Minnesota Opera. Miss Wall ended her opera season with a triumphal debut as the title-role in Strauss’ Daphne at the Santa Fe Opera. Further concert dates included the Toronto Symphony in Mahler’s 2nd Symphony with Sir Andrew Davis, who also led her performances of Così Fan Tutte in Chicago, the Vancouver Symphony for Strauss’ Four Last Songs and Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, a piece she also sang with Maestro Davis and the Pittsburgh Symphony.

Erin Wall’s operatic engagements in 2005-2006 included Pamina in Die Zauberflöte with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Marguerite in Faust with the Vancouver Opera, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni with Minnesota Opera, and Belinda in concerts of Dido and Aeneas at the Théâtre du Châtelet. Recital appearances included Chicago, Tokyo and Utica. During the summer, Ms.Wall sang concerts in Campos do Jordão and Rio de Janeiro as well as at the Bellingham Festival.

Ms. Wall's 2004-2005 Season began with an outstanding personal success as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni on opening night of the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s 50th Anniversary Season. She also sang Freia in Das Rheingold and Gerhilde in Die Walküre for Lyric Opera last season. She made her South American debut in July, as Marguerite in Faust for the Teatro Municipal in Santiago, Chile. Concert appearances included the Toronto, Calgary, Oregon, Chicago, and San Francisco Symphonies, and a live concert of Massenet opera excerpts with the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra which was recorded for CBC Radio and Television, and which was seen as part of the 2005-2006 “Opening Night” series on CBC Television. Ms. Wall also appeared in Carnegie’s Zankel Hall as part of the Marilyn Horne Foundation’s “The Song Continues” series, and made her New York City solo recital debut on the Foundation’s “On Wings of Song” series. She appeared in solo recitals in Chicago and Bellingham, Washington. Over the summer, Erin Wall appeared with Bryn Terfel and Andrea Bocelli in a televised concert of Opera arias and duets at Mr. Terfel’s Faenol Festival as well as at the Ravinia Festival as the Soprano soloist in Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with Christoph Eschenbach.

Past seasons included a three-season engagement as a member of the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Center for American Artists. At Lyric Opera, Ms. Wall has sung Marguerite in Faust and First Lady in Die Zauberflöte, among other roles. Ms. Wall made her European concert debut in Britten’s War Requiem with the London Symphony Orchestra, and has also appeared in concert with the Vancouver Symphony, Chicago Symphony, and the Grant Park and Ravinia Festivals.

Among the awards and career grants that Ms. Wall has received are the 2004 ARIA Award from the Aria Foundation, a Richard Tucker Award (2004) and a Sara Tucker Study Grant (2002) from the Richard Tucker Foundation. She represented Canada in the finals of the 2003 BBC Singer of the World in Cardiff competition to critical acclaim, and has also received awards from the Dallas Opera Career Grant Competition, the George London Foundation, the MacAllister Awards, the Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions, and the Florida Grand Opera’s Young Artists’ Competition.

Born to American parents in Calgary, Alberta, Ms. Wall studied piano at the Vancouver Academy of Music throughout her childhood. She holds music degrees from Western Washington University and Rice University. She also attended the Aspen Music Festival and the Music Academy of the West.