Mary Dunleavy

College Vocal Arts Faculty:
Classical Voice
Related Studies in Vocal Arts

Soprano Mary Dunleavy is one of her generation’s most versatile and acclaimed performers. She is best known as Violetta in La Traviata at the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Glimmerglass Opera and many others.

Mary’s early career was notable for her Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflöte (Met, San Francisco, Houston Grand Opera, Washington National Opera, Aix-en-Provence and others); Konstanze in Die Entführung aus dem Serail (San Francisco, Ensemble Orchestral de Paris, Cincinnati May Festival, Washington National Opera); Gilda in Rigoletto (Met, San Francisco, Hamburg State Opera, Teatro Municipal de Santiago); Leïla in Les pêcheurs de perles (Seattle Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, NYCO); and the Infanta in Der Zwerg (Spoleto Festival USA, Rome Opera, Los Angeles Opera).

Other roles included Micaëla in Carmen (Met, Netherlands Opera, The Dallas Opera, Pittsburgh Opera); Marguerite in Faust (Opéra de Montréal, Atlanta Opera), the title role in Thaïs (OTSL); the heroines in Les Contes d’Hoffmann (Met, The Dallas Opera); and Pamina in Die Zauberflöte (Met, Portland Opera, Boston Lyric Opera).

In recent years, Mary has added Christine Storch in Intermezzo (Garsington Opera, NYCO); Alice Ford in Falstaff (Garsington Opera); and Mimi (Fort Worth Opera) and Musetta (Met) in La Bohème. She was the Stepmother in Alma Deutscher’s Cinderella and created the role Millicent Jordan in William Bolcom’s Dinner at Eight.

Orchestral appearances have included: Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Atlanta Symphony, the Teatro Municipal de Santiago and others; Britten’s Spring Symphony with the San Francisco Symphony; and Carmina Burana with the Philadelphia Orchestra. She also appeared in Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln as Marguerite from Faust.

Mary received her undergraduate degree from Northwestern University and her Master of Music from the University of Texas at Austin.

photo: Elisa Haber