Soprano Laquita Mitchell consistently earns acclaim on eminent international opera and concert stages worldwide, having recently been nominated for a Grammy for her contribution as the soprano soloist in the world premiere of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Paul Moravec’s Sanctuary Road at Carnegie Hall with Oratorio Society of New York. This season, Mitchell returns to the role of Countess in the New Orleans Opera production of Le nozze di Figaro and reprises her lauded performance of Sanctuary Road with Virginia Opera, Princeton Pro Musica, and the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park. In addition, Mitchell appears in concert with the Oratorio Society of New York for Bach’s Magnificat and Mozart’s Requiem, Saint Thomas Church for Poulenc’s Stabat Mater, Chattanooga Symphony for Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, and Waterbury Symphony for their performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 final movement.
Last season, Mitchell reprised “Julie” in Omar with UNC Chapel Hill at Carolina Performing Arts – a role she created in the world premiere at the Spoleto Festival USA the previous season – and returned to the role of Josephine Baker in Cipullo’s Josephine with Music of Remembrance. In concert, Ms. Mitchell performed Samuel Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 with Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Madison Symphony, Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 with Sarasota Orchestra, Sanctuary Road with the Vocal Arts Ensemble of Cincinnati, Verdi’s Requiem with Rhode Island Philharmonic and Buffalo Philharmonic, Tippet’s A Child of Our Time with Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra, and Dett’s The Ordering of Moses with the Cincinnati May Festival.
Previously, Mitchell delighted concertgoers across the US with performances such as The Ordering of Moses for the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony for the Memphis Symphony, Brahms’ Requiem and a Bel Canto Gala with Albany Pro Musica, Knoxville: Summer of 1915 with Lima Symphony Orchestra, Sanctuary Road with Chautauqua Symphony, and a Holiday Concert for the Princeton Symphony. Additionally, she performed Robinetta in On Site Opera’s production of Rachel J. Peters’s Lesson Plan; the title role in Tom Cipullo’s Josephine for the New Orleans Opera and Opera Colorado, where it was presented alongside The Promise of Living, a concert program conceived by Ms. Mitchell; Bess in Porgy and Bess with Grange Park Opera in the UK, Lithuanian State Symphony, Detroit Symphony, and Baltimore Symphony; a reprisal of Sanctuary Road with the Columbus Symphony; a Gala Concert for Colorado Symphony; and Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 and Barber’s Knoxville: Summer 1915 with the Augusta Symphony. Mitchell appeared in New York Philharmonic’s Bandwagon concerts and the Kauffmann Music Center’s Musical Storefront series as part of New York City’s Pop-Up Arts Revival. She performed Mahler’s Symphony No.4 for Rhode Island Philharmonic, the soprano solo for the opening night concert of Classical Tahoe’s Tenth Anniversary season, as well as in Bard Music Festival’s concert performances of Nadia Boulanger and Her World.
Notable previous engagements include the role of Coretta Scott King in I Dream with Opera Grand Rapids, Toledo Opera, and Opera Carolina, Violetta in La Traviata with Opera Memphis, New York City Opera, and Edmonton Opera, and Donna Anna in Don Giovanni with Florentine Opera and Portland Opera. Recent concert engagements include the soprano solo in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Berkeley Symphony, Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with Missoula Symphony, and her return to the Philadelphia Orchestra to perform in their Academy Ball alongside Steve Martin, led by Yannick Nézet-Séguin.
In her compelling début as Bess in Porgy and Bess with San Francisco Opera, Opera News said “Laquita Mitchell, in her first outing as Bess, dazzled the SFO audience with her purity of tone and vivid theatrical presence.” She has since reprised the role with The Atlanta Opera, The Tanglewood Festival, Madison Symphony, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Toledo Opera, Springfield Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Santa Barbara Symphony, Jacksonville Symphony, Sheboygan Symphony Orchestra, Traverse City Symphony, the Margaret Island Open-Air Theatre in Budapest for their summer festival, and as the season opener for the Energa Sopot Classic Festival with the Polish Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra. Additionally, PBS invited Ms. Mitchell to perform a solo recital including excerpts from Porgy and Bess with pianist Craig Terry for the Television Critics Association Press Tour in Los Angeles in preparation for the broadcast and DVD release of SFO’s Porgy and Bess.
In her role début as Violetta in La Traviata with New York City Opera, she was labeled “extraordinary,” thanks to her “wide expressive range and big-hearted sound that contains just a hint of sexy smokiness. Her ‘Sempre libera’ was enlivened by a rhythmic clarity that made it seem almost danceable.” Other appearances include Leonora in Il trovatore in South Carolina and with Nashville Opera; Countess in Le nozze di Figaro with Toledo Opera; Sharon in Terrance McNally’s Master Class at The Kennedy Center; Musetta in La bohème in a return to Los Angeles Opera; Mimì in La bohème with Cincinnati Opera and at the Utah Symphony and Opera; Donna Anna in Don Giovanni with Florentine Opera, Portland Opera, and Opera New Jersey; Clara in Porgy and Bess with Los Angeles Opera, Washington National Opera, Opéra Comique in Paris, and on tour in Caen and Granada, Spain; and Micaëla in Carmen with New York City Opera, Opera Pacific, and most recently Cincinnati Opera, where the Cincinnati Enquirer raved, “Mitchell shone in the role of Micaëla… She was a natural actress and sang with expressive beauty whenever she was onstage.”
An active concert artist, Ms. Mitchell’s recent performances include: Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Philadelphia Orchestra at Saratoga Performing Arts Center; Over the Rainbow – an evening honoring Harold Arlen at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall; Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 with the Louisville Orchestra; a début with the New World Symphony in Alberto Ginastera’s Cantata para América Mágica; the world premiere of composer Steven Stucky’s August 4, 1964 with Dallas Symphony Orchestra; her Boston Symphony Orchestra début as the soprano soloist in Wynton Marsalis’ All Rise under the direction of Kurt Masur; and the soprano solo in Tippett’s A Child of our Time with the Washington Chorus at Kennedy Center. She has also performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony, Princeton Symphony Orchestra, the New York Symphonic Ensemble at Alice Tully Hall, and with Branford Marsalis and the Garden State Philharmonic. Additionally, she performs in recitals annually at Harare International Festival of the Arts in Zimbabwe.
Ms. Mitchell is an alumna of the Houston Grand Opera Studio, where she performed a variety of roles including stand-out performances in contemporary operas such as Orquidea in Daniel Catán’s Salsipuedes (world premiere), Myrrhine in Mark Adamo’s Lysistrata (world premiere), Barena in David Alden’s production of Jenůfa, and The Water in Rachel Portman’s The Little Prince (world premiere) directed by Francesca Zambello and conducted by Patrick Summers. Ms. Mitchell was previously a member of San Francisco Opera’s world-renowned Merola Program. She then joined Wolf Trap Opera in performances as
Alice Ford in Salieri’s Falstaff, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, and presented a recital with renowned pianist Steven Blier.
A native of New York City, Ms. Mitchell was a 2004 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Grand Prize Winner and was awarded a Sara Tucker Award. She was also the First Prize Winner of the Wiener Kammeroper’s Hans Gabor Belvedere Competition, making her the first American to win this competition in more than twenty years. Additionally, Ms. Mitchell was the First Prize Winner of the Houston Grand Opera Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers, as well as the winner of the Audience Choice award. Ms. Mitchell holds a Master of Music degree and a Professional Studies Certificate from the Manhattan School of Music and completed undergraduate studies at Westminster Choir College.