Mary Elizabeth Mackenzie, Soprano

Described by the New York Times as “a soprano of extraordinary agility and concentration” Mary Elizabeth Mackenzie has captured the attention of audiences in New York, Chicago, Wisconsin, Philadelphia, Cleveland and Boston.

Recent opera productions include Héctor Parra’s Hypermusic: Ascension at the Guggenheim Museum and the premiere of Jonathan Dawe’s Cracked Orlando at Columbia University.
Ms. Mackenzie made her professional opera debut as Despina in Così fan tutte with Madison Opera under the direction of Kelly Kuo. Operatic roles include Susanna (The Marriage of Figaro), Despina (Così fan tutte), Lucia (The Rape of Lucretia), Laetitia (The Old Maid and the Thief), Anne Trulove (The Rake’s Progress) and Beth (Little Women). She has appeared as soprano soloist in Mozart’s Exultate Jubilate with the Cleveland Institute of Music Orchestra, Handel’s Messiah with the Green Bay Symphony Orchestra, The Youth in Mendelssohn’s Elijah with the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra, and Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 and Faure’s Requiem in New York City.

A passionate performer of contemporary music, Ms. Mackenzie has worked closely with Pierre Boulez, John Harbison, Richard Danielpour, and James Primosch, and has premiered works by John Harbison, Jonathan Dawe, Hector Parra, and Wang Jie. She has appeared with the American Contemporary Music Ensemble, The Juilliard School’s AXIOM Ensemble and New Juilliard Ensemble, the Da Capo Chamber Players, Fulcrum Point New Music Project, the Continuum Ensemble, Red Light New Music, and the Talea Ensemble. Notable solo appearances include Jean Barraqué's Chant Aprés Chant with the Juilliard Percussion Ensemble at Alice Tully Hall, Schoenberg’s String Quartet No. 2 for the 2010 Musicians from Ravinia Tour, and Pierre Boulez’s Improvisations sur Mallarmé No. 1 & 2 for the composer’s 85th birthday celebration at Columbia University’s Miller Theatre.

Mary is a founding member of SongFusion, a New York-based ensemble dedicated to presenting classical and modern art song in innovative ways; and a member of Shuffle Concert, a unique chamber group that performs a variety of genres, from classical to pop!