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Internationally-renowned Metropolitan Opera star Victoria Livengood is a GRAMMY-nominated mezzo-soprano that has been hailed by audiences and
critics worldwide for her multi-faceted and powerhouse performances in a remarkably varied repertoire. From the opera stage to the concert stage, critics have
lauded her poignant interpretations of a gallery of characters, and describe her "rich, ruby-red voice" as "liquid silk." Victoria has been acclaimed by the
New York Times
as "naturally seductive and vocally alluring." Opera News raved that "her singing and acting radiate intensity," the German press declared her
"the ideal Carmen of our time," the Italian press proclaimed that "the power of her voice could straighten the Tower of Pisa," the Boston Phoenix
Magazine
compared her acting to Joan Crawford and her singing to Maria Callas and the Buenos Aires Herald named her "one of the leading
singer-actresses of her generation."
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The Thomasville, North Carolina native skyrocketed onto the opera scene in 1985 as a winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and went on to make
her mark on the opera world with her critically-acclaimed Metropolitan Opera debut in 1991 as Laura in Luisa Miller under James Levine’s
baton. Since then she has become best known for her dynamic portrayals in well over 100 performances with the prestigious company, and has established herself as a 'house
favorite.' She reached yet another career milestone when she triumphed in the title role of Carmen at the Met, fulfilling a life-long dream. One critic stated, "No
previous Met Carmen has approached Livengood's passionate acting and powerful vocalism." Her other acclaimed Met roles have included Herodias in
Salome, Giulietta in
Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Myrtle Wilson in The Great Gatsby, Maddalena in Rigoletto,
Prince Orlovsky in Die Fledermaus, Queen Isabella in The Voyage, Preziosilla in La Forza del
Destino, Lola in Cavalleria Rusticana, Margret in Wozzeck, Hippolyta in A Midsummer
Night’s Dream, Waltraute in Die Walkure, Sonyetka in Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk as well as Helene in the
company's premiere of
War and Peace, both of which were under the baton of Valery Gergiev. This past season she added the role of Akrosimova in
War and Peace to her extensive list of Met roles. Furthermore, she has been heard on numerous "Live from the Met" international radio broadcasts.
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Victoria’s illustrious career has taken her throughout Europe, South America, Canada and the United States. Her European debut took place in 1991 in
Idomeneo followed by La clemenza di Tito with L’Opera de Nice. Other European credits include the title role in
the world premiere of La Senorita Cristina for the Teatro Real in Madrid, Carmen with Opera der Stadt Koln,
Oedipus Rex at the Salzburg Festival and The Consul, War and Peace,
Lohengrin and the title role in The Medium all at Italy’s Spoleto Festival under the direction of Gian Carlo
Menotti. She also made her debut at the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires in Menotti's The Consul once again under the composer's direction
followed up by
The Rake's Progress at The Colon and has sung Les contes d'Hoffmann, Die Fledermaus
and
La Fille du Regiment, all in Santiago, Chile. Her Monte Carlo Opera debut was in the title role of The Medium
under the direction of Francis Menotti. Canada has seen her in The Rake's Progress in Vancouver, in Carmen,
Rigoletto and The Turn of the Screw at the Edmonton Opera, in Falstaff at Calgary, and as Dalila in an operatic
gala for L’Opera de Montreal.
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Nevertheless, it is in America that this Dixie Diva primarily bases her career. Besides her frequent performances at the Metropolitan Opera, the mezzo made a highly
successful debut with the New York City Opera in Mark Adamo's Lysistrata following her Houston Grand Opera debut in the world premiere of the
same production. She has sung in Falstaff and Jenufa with the San Francisco Opera, Boris
Godunov,
Les contes d'Hoffmann and La Fille du Regiment, all for Washington Opera, Werther at
Seattle Opera, Carmen and Il Trovatore for Portland Opera, Samson et Dalila and
Les contes d'Hoffmann at Baltimore Opera, Hamlet and "Baba" in The Medium for Florida
Grand Opera, the American premiere of Beauty and the Beast for Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Carmen,
Samson et Dalila and Les contes d'Hoffmann for Cleveland Opera, Carmen with Palm Beach
Opera, Dialogues of the Carmelites for Fort Worth Opera, Cosi fan tutte at Hawaii Opera, Il
Trovatore
for Anchorage Opera in Alaska, Carmen for Opera Carolina, both Carmen and Samson et Dalila
at Opera Company of North Carolina in Raleigh, Vanessa as well as The Ballad of Baby Doe for the Central City
Opera and the title role in The Medium for the Seagle Music Colony. Much of Victoria's schedule has been absorbed by her signature role of
Carmen. She has performed this heroine over 200 times worldwide opposite such tenors as Neil Schicoff and Placido Domingo. Critics have hailed her Carmen as
"picture-perfect, electrifying, soaring, sizzling, seductive and sensational." Audiences have enjoyed her multi-faceted gypsy in New York City, Koln, Portland, Boston,
San Diego, Cincinnati, Brooklyn, Edmonton, West Palm Beach, Cleveland, Grand Rapids, Raleigh, Knoxville, Hartford, Charlotte, Sarasota, Milwaukee, Memphis, Kansas City,
Erie, Springfield and Jacksonville.
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Also in high demand as a concert artist, Victoria’s credits are no less dazzling, having performed in New York's Carnegie Hall on five separate occasions. Her frequent
performances there have included Verdi's Requiem with the Brooklyn Philharmonic, The Civil Wars by Philip Glass
with the American Composers' Orchestra, Del Tredici's Child Alice with the American Symphony Orchestra, Rossini's Ermione
with MidAmerica Productions and the North Carolina Symphony's tribute to composer Robert Ward. She has sung Alexander Nevsky with The National
Symphony at the Kennedy Center and at Italy's Spoleto Festival and Oberon with the Cologne Symphony in Germany. Ms. Livengood has also been featured with the symphony
orchestras of Atlanta, Minnesota, Baltimore, San Diego, Honolulu, Memphis, Tucson and Jacksonville. She has been heard with the Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society in a
tribute to mezzo Marilyn Horne, as guest artist at the Rosa Ponselle Centennial Gala, as a featured soloist at New York’s St. Patrick's Cathedral and at the Cincinnati
May Festival under James Conlon's baton. She also sang concert versions of both Dalila and Carmen for Boston’s Chorus Pro Musica.
As a devoted recitalist, Ms. Livengood has been hailed as "gold-medal caliber, breathtaking, mesmerizing and emotionally charged" at such venues as the Kennedy Center,
the Smithsonian Institute, and New York City's Alice Tully and Avery Fisher halls. She has been heard in concert in Paris, Venice, Verona, Milan, Kiev, Odessa, St.
Petersburg and Moscow as well as in the Caribbean on the Queen Elizabeth II, and has performed on numerous occasions as part of the "Meet the Artists" series at Lincoln
Center. Victoria made her debut in Kingston, Jamaica, singing a concert for their "Feast of Music" Festival. She also had the honor of singing memorial concerts for her
dear friend and mentor, Gian Carlo Menotti, in both Monte Carlo and in Spoleto, Italy for a live television broadcast. She gave the world premiere performance of the
Academy Award-winning song "When You Believe" from The Prince of Egypt, for Steven Spielberg’s DreamWorks Pictures and has performed the National Anthem for the New York
Mets' baseball game and for the opening of the North Carolina Senate meetings. She also serenaded world famous tenor Luciano Pavarotti at a dinner in his honor for Opera
Company of North Carolina. Furthermore, she has lent her talents in concerts to benefit the Leukemia Society, the Epilepsy Foundation, the homeless shelters of New York
and Ohio, various hospital guilds, YMCA associations and the Foundation for Children with Aids. The mezzo has also presented highly regarded recitals and Master Classes
for students at the Universities of North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Jacksonville, Temple and East Carolina. She is on the board of overseers for The Boston Conservatory of
Music and serves on the board of the Jenson Foundation in North Carolina. She has served as a judge for the Washington International Vocal Competition as well as the
Queens Opera competition.
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In the initial stage of Victoria's career, she attracted worldwide attention as the winner of many of the operatic world's most prestigious awards and competitions. In
addition to her Metropolitan Opera Auditions award, Victoria has been an international winner of the Rosa Ponselle, Luciano Pavarotti and George London Competitions. She
is also a grant recipient of the Liederkranz, Sullivan and Puccini Foundations. It is no surprise that early in her career both Opera News and
Musical America magazines named her "a singer on the rise to stardom." For her numerous contributions to the arts and to her home state, Ms.
Livengood was recently inducted into the North Carolina Musicians' Hall of Fame along with Andy Griffith and Charlie Daniels. She is the recipient of the Distinguished
Alumni Award from both of her alma maters, the Boston Conservatory of Music as well as the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, an award she shares with fellow
UNC alumnus, Michael Jordan. She was also the featured speaker at the UNC Graduation Ceremonies for the Music Department. Furthermore, she has been awarded the title of
"Distinguished Artist in Residence" and received an honorary doctorate degree from Jacksonville University in Florida where she and her husband currently reside.
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Ms. Livengood's discography includes her GRAMMY-nominated performance with the London Symphony in Edward Thomas' Desire under the Elms as
well as the Thomas Pasatieri Songbook and Adler's AIDS Requiem, all for Albany Records. She has recorded Menotti's
The Consul and Prokofiev's War and Peace for Chandos, both with Richard Hickox conducting as well as EMI’s Oberon
with Ben Heppner, Deborah Voigt, and conductor James Conlon. Her solo releases include Piercing Eyes for Albany Records as well as four live
recital recordings entitled We Gather Together, Simple Gifts, Opening Night and
The Secret of Christmas. Her crossover gospel recordings include On Holy Ground and Ten
Thousand Joys, recorded at the First Baptist Church of Jacksonville, where she is a member and frequent guest soloist. Having been inspired by her travels around
the world, Victoria is also the designer of a line of diva fashion accessories called "Opening Night."
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Future performances include a return to The Met for the 2008-09 season and her first Klytemnestra in Elektra for Las Palmas in the Canary
Islands. Victoria will perform concerts with the National Symphony, the Fairfield County Chorale, the Jacksonville Symphony, and the Albany Symphony as well as in
Jamaica, Alabama and Tennessee. Stay tuned to the Itinerary page for frequent updates as well as performance and ticket information. As she
travels the world, Victoria carries with her a Southern charm and charisma born and nurtured on a farm in her hometown of Thomasville, North Carolina, where she sang in
local churches in a gospel quartet which included her loving parents and her younger brother. She is married to her high school sweetheart and is a stepmother to his
three sons. They make their home in Jacksonville, Florida. It is Victoria's heartfelt desire that her voice will uplift, inspire and bring the joy of music to each of
you.
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