Known for her “rich character portrayals” and “versatile voice,” mezzo-soprano Megan Roth enjoys a varied career performing opera, oratorio, art song, and chamber music, with repertoire spanning from early to contemporary music.
Most recently, Megan “smoldered” in the role of Tisbe in La Cenerentola with Boston Midsummer Opera, receiving accolades as she “…vamped about with sufficient trashy glitter, bringing the angry coloratura across the footlights with comic menace.” Additional roles include Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Summer Garden Opera in Virgina and in Little Women with MassOpera, where she was praised for her “warm and sonically sumptuous Meg.” Other notable engagements include soloist in Copland’s In the Beginning with Vox Humana in Dallas, Texas, Handel’s Messiah with the Rhode Island Civic Chorale and Orchestra, and Dixit Dominus with the Metropolitan Chorale. Megan is also the founder and artistic director of Calliope’s Call, a professional art song performance group based in New England, which presents unique and dynamic programs of art song by contemporary and new composers as well as traditional composers of the genre.
On the operatic stage, Megan made her debut with Boston Midsummer Opera as Dorabella in Così fan tutte and was invited back to sing the Woman in the Jazz Trio of Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti, where she was praised for her “lovely singing” and for being “most at home with her Andrews-Sisteresque routines.” She reprised the role of Dorabella with Opera Providence the subsequent season. With Opera Boston, Megan sang the role of Francisca in Maria Padilla and covered Beatrice in Berlioz’s Béatrice et Bénédict, after her debut the previous season as Amélie in La Grande Duchesse de Gérolstein. Other favorite roles include Angelina in La Cenerentola, Costanza in the rarely performed L’isola Disabitata by Haydn, and Sesto in Giulio Cesare.
Highlights of her solo concert performances include Bach’s B Minor Mass, Magnificat and Weihnacht’s Oratorium, Gretchaninov’s Passion Week, de Falla’s El amor brujo, Mozart’s Vesperae Solennes de Confessore and Requiem, Vivaldi’s Gloria & Magnificat, and Duruflé Requiem. Megan was a 2014 finalist in The American Prize Competition, both in the Chicago Oratorio Award and Opera Division categories.
As an active chamber musician, Megan performs with several renowned national ensembles including the GRAMMY® winning ensemble Conspirare out of Austin, Texas, GRAMMY® nominated Skylark Vocal Ensemble and True Concord, Lorelei Ensemble, and Yale Choral Artists. She also relishes collaborations with other artistic mediums and recently performed as guest artist with the Contemporary Dance Theatre at Indiana University and in a reprise performance with Nugent Dance at the Indianapolis Museum of Art performing Per te lascai la luce by Handel. She was also invited to give voice to the otherwise silent character Octavia in Britannicus, a play by Jean Racine at the American Repertory Theatre (A.R.T.), where she was acclaimed for “her gorgeously sung arias that act as haunting respites in this gripping drama.”
Ms. Roth holds an Artist Certificate in Opera and a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from Florida State University. Ms. Roth is also an accomplished violinist, and holds a Bachelor of Music with honor in Violin Performance from DePaul University. Outside of her musical endeavors, Megan enjoys reading contemporary fiction, practicing yoga, and hiking with her husband Adam. Megan belongs to Beyond Artists, a coalition of artists that donates a percentage of their concert fees to organizations they care about. She supports NYC Second Chance Rescue and REACH Beyond Domestic Violence through her performances.