Naomi Louisa O’Connell
Naomi Louisa O’Connell
Mezzo-Soprano
Hailed by The New York Times as “radiant,” Naomi made her professional debut in 2012 starring on the West End in Terrence McNally’s play Master Class. Her work encompasses both theatrical and operatic repertoire, ranging from straight plays to operas, recitals and cabarets to sound sculptures and virtual reality performance art.
Sought after for her interpretations of contemporary opera, she recently created the role of Mrs Van Buren in Intimate Apparel at Lincoln Center Theater, a development of the Metropolitan Opera/LCT commissioning program, which will be released on PBS Great Performances this fall. Notable operatic roles include the title role in Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea (Oper Frankfurt), Cherubino in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro (Welsh National Opera, Atlanta Opera), Offenbach’s La Périchole (Garsington Opera), and Mélisande in Pelléas et Mélisande — both Maeterlinck’s play and Debussy’s opera — with the Cincinnati Symphony.
Lauded by The New York Times as “a natural in the recital format” for her Carnegie Hall debut recital Witches, Bitches & Women in Britches at Weill Recital Hall, she performs regularly in concerts internationally, and her recitals have been featured on WQXR and the Met Live Arts Series. A keen performer of chamber music, her nuanced performance of Ravel’s Mallarmé songs at the Marlboro Music Festival was applauded by the Boston Globe as “outstanding.”
Previous engagements with the Peoria Symphony include Martucci’s song cycle La canzone dei ricordi with Maestro George Stelluto, and a resident artist week with pianist Brent Funderburk in 2018. Upcoming performances include the world premiere of Emma O’Halloran’s monodrama Mary Motorhead and virtual reality opera As an nGnách (Finola Merivale/Jody O’Neill), and engagements with LA Opera, NYC’s Prototype Festival, Hong Kong’s ‘Intimate of Creativity’ Festival, Irish National Opera, and the New York Festival of Song.
