ADA Artist Management & Representation

Biography

Mezzo-soprano Audrey Babcock is quickly gaining momentous acclaim as a fresh and vibrant interpreter of Carmen. Her richly hued voice, commanding presence, alluring body language, and sharply honed acting skills give her performances startling poignancy and depth, making her a sought after figure on the operatic scene.

Engagements for the 2008 season included Carmen at San Antonio Opera where the SACurrent said, “Babcock’s voice is sultry and pillowy…she screamed sex”, Maddalena with Toledo Opera and the World Premier of the one woman show, Lily; her life, his music at Dicapo Opera. Also in the 2008-2009 season Audrey sang Dorabella in Così fan tutte with Opera Idaho, Jo in Little Women with Syracuse Opera, and returned to Utah Festival Opera for Lola in Cavalleria Rusticana and the title role in Carmen. Engagements for 2009-2010 include Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony with the Orquesta Nacional de Costa Rica, Maddalena in Rigoletto with Nashville Opera, Florentine Opera, Virginia Opera and Tulsa Opera, as well as Aldonza/Dulcinea in Man of La Mancha with Shreveport Opera. Audrey will continue her affiliation with Bizet’s Carmen, singing the title role with Wichita Grand Opera and making her European debut as Mercedes in with the Savonlinna Opera Festival in 2010.

She recently appeared as Aldonza/Dulcinea in Man of La Mancha with Lyric Opera of San Diego, The Third Lady in The Magic Flute with Opera Pacific, the Verdi Requiem with West Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Flora in La traviata with Cincinnati Opera and the title role in Carmen with both Toledo Opera and Intermountain Opera. In the 2006-2007 season Audrey was featured in a televised concert series with the world renowned Regina Resnik. Other season highlights include the title role in the New York Premier of Tobias Picker’s Thérèse Raquin at Dicapo Opera, Carmen in The Tragedy of Carmen at Opera on the James, and Aldonza/Dulcinea in The Man of La Mancha with Utah Festival Opera Company, about which the Herald Journal reported, “[Babcock's] Aldonza/Dulcinea is gritty and real in her anger, and then in her tenderness toward Quixote. Vocally, she is right on the money, and physically, she is up to this very demanding role.” She has previously performed with the New York City Opera, Seattle Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Florida Grand Opera, and The New World Symphony.

Audrey is equally noteworthy in her symphonic concert and recital engagements, which have included Verdi’s Requiem with the Charleston Symphony, “Viva Verdi!” concert with Mobile Opera, “Murder and other Operatic Mayhem” with the National Symphony Orchestra and “Where the Boys Are” with musical director, Steve Blier. The Washington Post noted of her recital at the Phillips Collection “…[Babcock’s] diction is excellent and…she used language with extraordinary power and dramatic impact…[Kurt] Weill’s brashness and Babcock’s dramatic strengths are a perfect match.” And of her side-splitting portrayal of Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd, T.L Ponick (The Washington Times) described the singer as “…a strutting, comic sensation…”

Ms. Babcock is a winner of the George London Award, the Fritz and Lavinia Jensen Foundation award, and an Opera Index Encouragement Award. She was also a Metropolitan Opera Regional Finalist two years in a row. She was a first place winner in the Friday Morning Music Club Washington International Voice Competition and placed in the Florida Grand YPO Voice Competition, Palm Beach Opera Voice Competition, and the Liederkranz Foundation Scholarship Award.

Recording under the name Aviva, Ms. Babcock has released her Debut Album with Global Perspective Records called “Songs for Carmen”, and tours concert halls and clubs around the US with Flamenco Guitarist Dan Nadel with a program called, “Beyond Carmen”. www.aviva-music.com