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.”

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.’ In October of 2002, 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. Furthermore, she has been heard on numerous "Live from the Met" international radio broadcasts.

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.  She recently made her Monte Carlo Opera debut 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.

Nevertheless, it is in America that this Dixie Diva primarily bases her career. Besides her frequent performances at the Metropolitan Opera, the mezzo recently 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 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, Carmen for Opera Carolina, both Carmen and Samson et Dalila at Opera Company of North Carolina in Raleigh and Vanessa as well as The Ballad of Baby Doe for the Central City Opera. Much of Victoria’s schedule has been absorbed by her signature role of Carmen. She has performed this heroine over 150 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.

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 a concert version of Dalila 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 Hall. 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. 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 recently 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 Master Classes for students at the Universities of North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Jacksonville, and Temple. She recently served as one of the judges for the Washington International Vocal Competition.

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. Furthermore, she has recently 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.

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.”

Upcoming performances for the future include a return to the Spoleto Festival for memorial concerts for her good friend and mentor, Gian Carlo Menotti. She will perform Azucena in Il Trovatore for both Anchorage Opera in Alaska and Virginia Opera. She has a solo recital and master class series at East Carolina University and makes a return to The Met in the 2007-08 season. She will also sing her first Klytemnestra in Elektra for Las Palmas in the Canary Islands in 2009. Stay tuned to the Itinerary page for updates and 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.

REVISED AND UPDATED – JUNE 2007

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