Annie Chester, mezzo soprano, has been praised for her strong dramatic presence on the operatic stage and for her “warm, rich, chocolatey voice”. Immediately upcoming, Ms. Chester will return to Sarasota Opera to perform as Maddalena (Principal Artist) in the company’s 2019 fall production of Rigoletto. Shortly thereafter, the up-and-coming mezzo soprano will make her debut with the Tri-Cities Opera to create and perform the role of “Mom” in the world premiere opera, Marie Begins by Ellen Fishman. Later this season, Ms. Chester will make another debut, this time with Opera Theater of Saint Louis performing the role of Mrs. McLean in the company’s debut production of Susannah. She will also cover the role of Dr. Landau in another company debut and world premiere opera, Awakenings by Tobias Picker and Aryeh Lev Stollman. Most recently, Ms. Chester made an impressive debut with Opera Saratoga as Gertrud (Mother) in Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel, among other roles and concert appearances she accommodated as a Young Artist throughout the 2019 summer season. Also recently, she successfully performed with Sarasota Opera as Dritte Dame in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte and covered the role of Fenena in Verdi’s Nabucco as a 2019 Studio Artist. Other recent engagements include Ms. Chester’s auspicious debut with the Hawaii Performing Arts Festival as Ruggiero in Handel’s Alcina, about which her vocalism was memorably described as “mellifluous”. The mezzo soprano was also enthusiastically received when she performed as featured solo artist in concert with Penn Square Music Festival. Of further note, Ms. Chester performed with Sarasota Opera in the roles of Antonia in D’Albert’s Tiefland and the Madrigal Singer in Puccini’s Manon Lescaut as a 2018 Studio Artist. Previously, she was an Apprentice Artist with the company, where she covered the roles of Annina in Verdi’s La traviata (Fall 2017) and Zulma in Rossini’s L’italiana in Algeri (Winter 2017). Annie Chester’s resume spans the gamut of operatic productions, oratorios and concerts, commercial media, world premieres and recitals. Her opera credits include Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro, Dorabella in Cosi fan tutte, Amastre in Xerxes, the title role of Dido in Dido and Aeneas, Jade Boucher in Dead Man Walking and Olga in The Merry Widow among others. As an outstanding oratorio/concert soloist, Ms. Chester has performed as mezzo/alto soloist in Bach’s Magnificat, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Beethoven’s Mass in C, Britten’s Rejoice in the Lamb, Corigliano’s Fern Hill, Mozart’s Requiem, Mozart’s Coronation Mass in C, and Rossini’s Petite Messe Solenelle. Annie Chester holds both Master of Music (MM ’16) and Bachelor of Music (BM ’14) degrees in voice performance from the world-renowned Indiana University Jacobs School of Music (Bloomington, Indiana), where she studied with acclaimed voice teachers, Scharmal Schrock and Patricia Havranek. Ms. Chester currently resides in New York City.
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