Margaret O’Connell is an established mezzo-soprano moving into dramatic repertoire. She has enjoyed a versatile career in opera, contemporary music, musical theater, oratorio, and recording.
Upcoming appearances include Margaret’s role debut as Klytämnestra in Elektra in Berlin, conducted by Oper Frankfurt's Felice Venanzani.
Margaret portrayed a “fiercely committed” Older Alyce in an acclaimed, sold-out production of Tom Cipullo’s Glory Denied with New York OperaFest. She made her Carnegie Hall debut under the baton of Leon Botstein and the American Symphony Orchestra in Strauss’ Feuersnot.
Other prominent companies with whom she has been featured include the Bard Festival (with Maestro Botstein), Aspen Music Festival (with Julius Rudel), Songfest (with John Harbison and Martin Katz), Center for Contemporary Opera, La Mama Theater in New York City, and American Opera Projects.
Audiences have recently seen Margaret as Wellgunde in Götterdämmerung in Concert, and as Matilde Urrutia in the New York premiere of Ray Luedeke’s My Life with Pablo Neruda. Additional favorite roles performed include the title role in Carmen, Olga in Eugene Onegin, Dulcinée in Don Quichotte, Nicklausse in Les contes d’Hoffman, Adalgisa in Norma, Florence in Albert Herring, and the lead in Dido and Aeneas.
Margaret has many premieres to her credit. Working with Michael Ching, she created the role of Margaret Krusemark in J. Mark Scearce’s Falling Angel at the Center for Contemporary Opera, and premiered excerpts from Mr. Ching’s Speed Dating Tonight! with the composer at the piano. She originated the role of Ashley in Best Friends by Wendy Wasserstein, opposite Lauren Flanigan.
Ms. O’Connell sang with Maestro Alexander Frey in his premiere CD of Bernstein’s Peter Pan (Koch International Classics). Her commercial recording of Randall Snyder’s Traveling West with Maestro Max Lifchitz (North/South label) was praised by Fanfare Magazine.
Margaret has won scholarships from the Aspen Music Festival, Songfest, and the Musical Club of Westfield (NJ). She was a Dean’s Scholar at Oberlin College Conservatory and a prize winner in the Kosciuszko Foundation Marcella Sembrich Competition.
In the musical theatre arena, Ms. O’Connell has appeared as Martha in The Secret Garden with the MIT Players and the Singer/Fiddler Jones in Spoon River Anthology with Musical Theatre Works (NYC). Off-Broadway credits include Young Jennie in Portrait of Jennie (with Brent Barrett) and Gabriella Winterova in Michael Slade's play Children of Terezin. She also appeared with Victor Trent Cook in the Disney Channel musical film Starlight.
Margaret holds a Master of Music in Solo Voice from McGill University, and a Bachelor of Music in Violin and Voice Performance from Oberlin Conservatory of Music.
Upcoming appearances include Margaret’s role debut as Klytämnestra in Elektra in Berlin, conducted by Oper Frankfurt's Felice Venanzani.
Margaret portrayed a “fiercely committed” Older Alyce in an acclaimed, sold-out production of Tom Cipullo’s Glory Denied with New York OperaFest. She made her Carnegie Hall debut under the baton of Leon Botstein and the American Symphony Orchestra in Strauss’ Feuersnot.
Other prominent companies with whom she has been featured include the Bard Festival (with Maestro Botstein), Aspen Music Festival (with Julius Rudel), Songfest (with John Harbison and Martin Katz), Center for Contemporary Opera, La Mama Theater in New York City, and American Opera Projects.
Audiences have recently seen Margaret as Wellgunde in Götterdämmerung in Concert, and as Matilde Urrutia in the New York premiere of Ray Luedeke’s My Life with Pablo Neruda. Additional favorite roles performed include the title role in Carmen, Olga in Eugene Onegin, Dulcinée in Don Quichotte, Nicklausse in Les contes d’Hoffman, Adalgisa in Norma, Florence in Albert Herring, and the lead in Dido and Aeneas.
Margaret has many premieres to her credit. Working with Michael Ching, she created the role of Margaret Krusemark in J. Mark Scearce’s Falling Angel at the Center for Contemporary Opera, and premiered excerpts from Mr. Ching’s Speed Dating Tonight! with the composer at the piano. She originated the role of Ashley in Best Friends by Wendy Wasserstein, opposite Lauren Flanigan.
Ms. O’Connell sang with Maestro Alexander Frey in his premiere CD of Bernstein’s Peter Pan (Koch International Classics). Her commercial recording of Randall Snyder’s Traveling West with Maestro Max Lifchitz (North/South label) was praised by Fanfare Magazine.
Margaret has won scholarships from the Aspen Music Festival, Songfest, and the Musical Club of Westfield (NJ). She was a Dean’s Scholar at Oberlin College Conservatory and a prize winner in the Kosciuszko Foundation Marcella Sembrich Competition.
In the musical theatre arena, Ms. O’Connell has appeared as Martha in The Secret Garden with the MIT Players and the Singer/Fiddler Jones in Spoon River Anthology with Musical Theatre Works (NYC). Off-Broadway credits include Young Jennie in Portrait of Jennie (with Brent Barrett) and Gabriella Winterova in Michael Slade's play Children of Terezin. She also appeared with Victor Trent Cook in the Disney Channel musical film Starlight.
Margaret holds a Master of Music in Solo Voice from McGill University, and a Bachelor of Music in Violin and Voice Performance from Oberlin Conservatory of Music.