Beth MacLeod - Full Biography

Beth MacLeod, mezzo-soprano, holds a Bachelor of Music with distinction in Vocal Performance from the New England Conservatory of Music, a Master of Music in Opera from the Curtis Institute if Music in Philadelphia, and is a graduate of the Juilliard Opera Center in New York City.

Miss MacLeod made her operatic debut at the age of 21 with the Santa Fe Opera where she sang the Third Sprit in W. A. Mozart’s Magic Flute, and the Young Lady/Young Girl roles in the premiere of Hans Werner Henze’s We Come to the River. She has twice been an Apprentice Artist with the Santa Fe Opera, has sung in the studio program of Central City Opera, has been an Apprentice Artist with the Glimmerglass Opera in Cooperstown, New York, and has twice been an Apprentice Artist with the Des Moines Metro Opera. Her performance credits include Suzuki in Madam Butterfly with the Des Moines Metro Opera , Flora in Verdi’s La Traviata with the Glimmerglass Opera, directed by world-renowned Jonathan Miller, under the baton of Stuart Robertson, and Flora once again with the Connecticut Grand Opera.

Miss MacLeod has toured extensively with groups such as Des Moines Metro Opera’s Opera IOWA, where she participated in the world premier of Stephen Paulus’ opera Harmoonia. She was the mezzo soloist in the Ensemble of Opera/Omaha. While in Omaha, she was the featured soloist with the Omaha Symphony in their POPS concert, singing the music of Rogers and Hart. In May of 1992, Miss MacLeod made her debut at the Spoleto U.S.A. Festival, singing the role of the Trainbearer in Strauss’ opera Elektra. In the fall of 1994, Miss MacLeod made her Pittsburgh Opera debut in the roles of Flora in La Traviata, directed by Loren Maazel, and Marcelline in Le Nozze di Figaro, all under the direction of Maestro Tito Capobianco. Her other roles include Dorabella, Hansel, Rosina, and Blanche in Dialogues of the Carmelites, to name a few.

Miss MacLeod made here orchestral debut while still a student at the New England Conservatory, where she was chosen by Seiji Ozawa to be the Alto soloist in Haydn’s Creation with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. She has since sung with the Cedar Rapids Symphony of Iowa, where she performed Tres Canciones Espirituales de San Juan de la Cruz for Mezzo-Soprano and Orchestra by William Call, and Falla’s Three Cornered Hat. Her other orchestra credits include the Merrick, Long Island Symphony, as well as the Orchestras of the Juilliard School, the Curtis Institute and the New England Conservatory of Music. She soloed with the New Hampshire Philharmonic as Carmen and returned in May of 1994 to sing Ravel’s Scherazade. She has also been a member of the prestigious chamber choir The Philadelphia Singers, then under the direction of Michael Korn.

Miss MacLeod was a 1990 finalist in the Houston Grand Competition, a 1990 Semi-finalist in the Boston Region of the Metropolitan Opera Competition, a 1990 Semi-finalist in the New York Liederkranz Competition, as well as a European Finalist in the Luciano Pavarotti International Voice Competition. From 1996 to 1999 Miss MacLeod lived and worked in Germany, singing over 980 performances of Das Phantom der Oper, as well as performing many concerts in Berlin, Bochum and Hamburg. She currently resides in Duxbury, Massachusetts, and is Director of the Conservatory's Duxbury campus. Miss MacLeod serves as Artistic Director of Cape Cod Opera and South Shore Conservatory's Opera by the Bay.