Praised for her "high, sweet coloratura" and "nuanced performance", soprano Alison Scherzer's creative portfolio spans opera, musical theater, concert, operetta, theater and film. She will be joining the Equilibrium Young Artists initiative as The Queen for the world premiere of Gerald Barry's opera Salome, conducted by Barbara Hannigan at the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.
World premiere of Gerald Barry's new opera Salome
World premiere of David Buckley's opera Oracle
World premiere concert performance of Céline, by Richard Harvey
Madame X in Gerald Barry's opera La plus forte
Praised for her "high, sweet coloratura" and "nuanced performance", soprano Alison Scherzer's portfolio spans opera, musical theater, concert, operetta, theater and film. She is an alumni of Barbara Hannigan’s Equilibrium Young Artist Program.
A specialist in contemporary vocal music, Ms. Scherzer will be creating the first recording of Gerald Barry's one woman opera La Plus Forte as Madame X in collaboration with the BBC Concert Orchestra at the Alexandra Palace in London. She is premiering three new operatic works in the 24/25 season, as the title role in Gerald Barry's new opera Salome at Theater Magdeburg, the title role in Richard Harvey's opera Céline and as Phoebe in David Buckley's Oracle with Nouvel Opéra Fribourg. Scherzer made her house debut at the Nederlandse Reisopera last season as Maid in Thomas Adès' Powder Her Face. She performed the title role in Gerald Barry's opera Alice's Adventures Underground with Theater Magdeburg to great acclaim, a production that will be revived at the Grand Théatre de Génève in April 2025. She reprised her role as Maid in Powder Her Face, in a co-production with Nouvel Opéra Fribourg and Athénée Théâtre Louis-Jouvet, where she previously sang Cecily Cardew in Gerald Barry's The Importance of Being Earnest. She performed as a soloist at the Gerhart-Hauptmann-Theater Görlitz-Zittau, where she sang Maid in Powder Her Face, Franziska Cagliari in Wiener Blut, Ulla in The Producers, Chava in Fiddler on the Roof and Stella/Ella in Frau Luna. Other previously performed roles include Gretel in Hänsel und Gretel, Blonde in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Zerlina in Don Giovanni, Zerbinetta and Najade in Ariadne auf Naxos, Dalinda in Ariodante, Mrs. Nordstrom in Sondheim's A Little Night Music, Curley's Wife in Carlisle Floyd's Of Mice and Men, Mabel in Pirates of Penzance, and Maria in The Sound of Music.
Scherzer's concert and oratorio experience include the soprano solos in Fauré's Requiem, Poulenc's Gloria, Mondonville's Dominus Regnavit, Bach's Weihnachtsoratorium and Johannespassion, Mozart's Mass in C Minor, Exsultate Jubilate and Vesperae solennes de confessore, Saint-Saëns' Christmas Oratorio, Orff's Carmina Burana, Brahms' Deutsches Requiem and Liebeslieder Walzer, Bach's Weihnachtsoratorium and Johannespassion, and as Lieschen in the Kaffee Kantate.
Scherzer studied at the prestigious University of Cincinnati - College Conservatory of Music (CCM) for her Master of Music degree, as well as an Artist Diploma directed towards incorporating different art forms and performance practices within contemporary art song recital. At CCM she received the Norman Treigle Memorial Award, Dieterle Chair Scholarship, CCM Spoleto Fellowship, Mercer Fund and University of Cincinnati International Grants for music and linguistic studies in Spoleto and Lucca, Italy, and Lyon, France. She has participated in the Fondazione Haydn di Bolzano, Wernigeröder Schloßfestspiele, Pine Mountain Music Festival, CCM Spoleto, the Grandin Vocal Chamber Music Festival, Opera Theater and Music Festival of Lucca, AIMS Festival in Graz, and the Wesley-Balk Opera/Music-Theater Institute.
Alison Scherzer is currently based in Cologne, Germany.
Praised for her "high, sweet coloratura" and "nuanced performance", soprano Alison Scherzer's creative portfolio spans opera, musical theater, concert, operetta, theater and film. She will be joining the Equilibrium Young Artists initiative as The Queen for the world premiere of Gerald Barry's opera Salome, conducted by Barbara Hannigan at the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.
World premiere of Gerald Barry's new opera Salome
World premiere of David Buckley's opera Oracle
World premiere concert performance of Céline, by Richard Harvey
Madame X in Gerald Barry's opera La plus forte
Praised for her "high, sweet coloratura" and "nuanced performance", soprano Alison Scherzer's portfolio spans opera, musical theater, concert, operetta, theater and film. She is an alumni of Barbara Hannigan’s Equilibrium Young Artist Program.
A specialist in contemporary vocal music, Ms. Scherzer will be creating the first recording of Gerald Barry's one woman opera La Plus Forte as Madame X in collaboration with the BBC Concert Orchestra at the Alexandra Palace in London. She is premiering three new operatic works in the 24/25 season, as the title role in Gerald Barry's new opera Salome at Theater Magdeburg, the title role in Richard Harvey's opera Céline and as Phoebe in David Buckley's Oracle with Nouvel Opéra Fribourg. Scherzer made her house debut at the Nederlandse Reisopera last season as Maid in Thomas Adès' Powder Her Face. She performed the title role in Gerald Barry's opera Alice's Adventures Underground with Theater Magdeburg to great acclaim, a production that will be revived at the Grand Théatre de Génève in April 2025. She reprised her role as Maid in Powder Her Face, in a co-production with Nouvel Opéra Fribourg and Athénée Théâtre Louis-Jouvet, where she previously sang Cecily Cardew in Gerald Barry's The Importance of Being Earnest. She performed as a soloist at the Gerhart-Hauptmann-Theater Görlitz-Zittau, where she sang Maid in Powder Her Face, Franziska Cagliari in Wiener Blut, Ulla in The Producers, Chava in Fiddler on the Roof and Stella/Ella in Frau Luna. Other previously performed roles include Gretel in Hänsel und Gretel, Blonde in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Zerlina in Don Giovanni, Zerbinetta and Najade in Ariadne auf Naxos, Dalinda in Ariodante, Mrs. Nordstrom in Sondheim's A Little Night Music, Curley's Wife in Carlisle Floyd's Of Mice and Men, Mabel in Pirates of Penzance, and Maria in The Sound of Music.
Scherzer's concert and oratorio experience include the soprano solos in Fauré's Requiem, Poulenc's Gloria, Mondonville's Dominus Regnavit, Bach's Weihnachtsoratorium and Johannespassion, Mozart's Mass in C Minor, Exsultate Jubilate and Vesperae solennes de confessore, Saint-Saëns' Christmas Oratorio, Orff's Carmina Burana, Brahms' Deutsches Requiem and Liebeslieder Walzer, Bach's Weihnachtsoratorium and Johannespassion, and as Lieschen in the Kaffee Kantate.
Scherzer studied at the prestigious University of Cincinnati - College Conservatory of Music (CCM) for her Master of Music degree, as well as an Artist Diploma directed towards incorporating different art forms and performance practices within contemporary art song recital. At CCM she received the Norman Treigle Memorial Award, Dieterle Chair Scholarship, CCM Spoleto Fellowship, Mercer Fund and University of Cincinnati International Grants for music and linguistic studies in Spoleto and Lucca, Italy, and Lyon, France. She has participated in the Fondazione Haydn di Bolzano, Wernigeröder Schloßfestspiele, Pine Mountain Music Festival, CCM Spoleto, the Grandin Vocal Chamber Music Festival, Opera Theater and Music Festival of Lucca, AIMS Festival in Graz, and the Wesley-Balk Opera/Music-Theater Institute.
Alison Scherzer is currently based in Cologne, Germany.
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