Bio: Often referred to as “sultry,” “elegant,” and “compelling,” mezzo-soprano Janara Kellerman is quickly making a name for herself among opera lovers and critics alike. Hailed by Opera News for her “keen dramatic instincts” and “voluptuous tone,” Ms. Kellerman is delighting audiences throughout the world.
In the 2017-2018 season Ms. Kellerman will join the Orchestra Iowa as the Alto Soloist in their performance of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony and sing selections from Carmen. In October she will return to New Amsterdam Opera in their “Come into the Leit” all Wagner concert in which she will sing the role of Ortrud in the Lohengrin Act II duet with Elsa and Brangaene’s Warning from Tristan und Isolde. In the spring she will return to Lincoln Center as the Alto Soloist in Beethoven’s 9th Symphony and Vaughn William’s Serenade to Music with the National Chorale.
This past season Ms. Kellerman joined an all-star cast in an October Gala for New Amsterdam Opera and returned to Cedar Rapids Opera as Mamma Lucia in Cavalleria Rusticana. She made her debut with Opera Delaware in their Inside the Opera Studio/Ladies Night Concert Series, with New Amsterdam Opera in March she debuted the role of Preziosilla in La Forza del Destino, a return engagement with Mineola Choral Society as the alto soloist in Mendellsohn’s Elijah and this past summer she joined Union Avenue Opera in their production of Albert Herring alongside the great American Soprano, Christine Brewer as Lady Billows. Of her performance critics raved "Janara Kellerman as his overbearing mother had a voice and swagger even bigger than Brewer's which made Albert's submission to her thumb totally understandable" - St. Louis Today "Also appearing are Janara Kellerman whose formidable Mezzo-soprano dominates Britten's score as powerfully as Lady Billows rules over the denizens of Loxford" -ladue news
Most recent performances include concert performances in New York City as the Alto Soloist in Durufle' Requiem, Bach’s B Minor Mass and Mendellsohn's Magnificat. She made her role début as Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana with Musica Viva Hong Kong; Mrs. Peachum in The Threepenny Opera with Indianapolis Opera; Dido in Dido and Aeneas with MidAtlantic Opera; the Old Lady in Candide with Fresno Grand Opera; and Little Buttercup in HMS Pinafore with Opera Saratoga and Lyric Opera San Antonio. She also made her Carnegie Hall début as the mezzo-soprano soloist in the New York première of Stephen Paulus’ To Be Certain of the Dawn; and sang the alto soloist in Verdi’s Requiem with New Jersey Symphony and Mississippi Orchestra. In 2015 the New Jersey Symphony released the recording of the Verdi Requiem performance under the baton of Maestro Jacques LaCombe and joined by soloists, Marianne Fiset, Russell Thomas and Peter Volpe.
Ms. Kellerman is gaining critical attention for her portrayal of the title role in Carmen after making her role début with Des Moines Metro Opera. “When Janara Kellerman struts on stage and launches into the famous Habanera’s slinky chromatic descent, it’s easy to forget everyone else. Her voice is simultaneously agile and strong… With her thick black hair, smoldering gaze and brazen swagger, Kellerman casts a spell more potent than any cloud of smoke. She deftly combines her character’s dramatic sense of abandon with the score’s demand for vocal control.” (Des Moines Register)
On the concert stage, Ms. Kellerman reunited with Robert Aldridge and the Topeka Symphony Orchestra for a world première as the alto soloist in his grand oratorio, Parables, and was later engaged for repeat performances. Other notable concert performances have included the alto solo in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony in her Avery Fisher Hall début; Azucena in Il Trovatore in concert with the Westfield Symphony; soloist in Mahler’sSymphony No. 2 with Dubuque Symphony Orchestra; a return to Iowa for a concert of Schumann works.
She has also performed the alto solos in Händel’s Messiah, Beethoven’s Mass in C Minor, Bach’s St. John’s Passion, Rossini’s Petite Messe Solenelle, Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, Mozart’s Requiem.
Prior engagements include a gala performance of excerpts from L’italiana in Algeri and Samson et Dalila with the New Jersey State Opera featuring Samuel Ramey and Paul Plishka; Amneris in Aïda and Fenena in Nabucco with New Jersey State Opera; and a return to New York City Opera for their production of Antony and Cleopatra and as the cover Carmen and Malcolm in Rossini’s La Donna del Lago. Ms. Kellerman also worked with Grammy-winning composer Robert Aldridge when she stepped in at the last minute as Sharon Falconer in his opera Elmer Gantry.
She is the recipient of the Richard F. Gold Career Grand from the Shoshana Foundation and a winner in the Koussevitzky and Liederkranz Competition, as well as, a finalist in the Jensen and YPO/FGO Competition and a semi-finalist in the 2015 Joy in Singing Competition.
In the 2017-2018 season Ms. Kellerman will join the Orchestra Iowa as the Alto Soloist in their performance of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony and sing selections from Carmen. In October she will return to New Amsterdam Opera in their “Come into the Leit” all Wagner concert in which she will sing the role of Ortrud in the Lohengrin Act II duet with Elsa and Brangaene’s Warning from Tristan und Isolde. In the spring she will return to Lincoln Center as the Alto Soloist in Beethoven’s 9th Symphony and Vaughn William’s Serenade to Music with the National Chorale.
This past season Ms. Kellerman joined an all-star cast in an October Gala for New Amsterdam Opera and returned to Cedar Rapids Opera as Mamma Lucia in Cavalleria Rusticana. She made her debut with Opera Delaware in their Inside the Opera Studio/Ladies Night Concert Series, with New Amsterdam Opera in March she debuted the role of Preziosilla in La Forza del Destino, a return engagement with Mineola Choral Society as the alto soloist in Mendellsohn’s Elijah and this past summer she joined Union Avenue Opera in their production of Albert Herring alongside the great American Soprano, Christine Brewer as Lady Billows. Of her performance critics raved "Janara Kellerman as his overbearing mother had a voice and swagger even bigger than Brewer's which made Albert's submission to her thumb totally understandable" - St. Louis Today "Also appearing are Janara Kellerman whose formidable Mezzo-soprano dominates Britten's score as powerfully as Lady Billows rules over the denizens of Loxford" -ladue news
Most recent performances include concert performances in New York City as the Alto Soloist in Durufle' Requiem, Bach’s B Minor Mass and Mendellsohn's Magnificat. She made her role début as Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana with Musica Viva Hong Kong; Mrs. Peachum in The Threepenny Opera with Indianapolis Opera; Dido in Dido and Aeneas with MidAtlantic Opera; the Old Lady in Candide with Fresno Grand Opera; and Little Buttercup in HMS Pinafore with Opera Saratoga and Lyric Opera San Antonio. She also made her Carnegie Hall début as the mezzo-soprano soloist in the New York première of Stephen Paulus’ To Be Certain of the Dawn; and sang the alto soloist in Verdi’s Requiem with New Jersey Symphony and Mississippi Orchestra. In 2015 the New Jersey Symphony released the recording of the Verdi Requiem performance under the baton of Maestro Jacques LaCombe and joined by soloists, Marianne Fiset, Russell Thomas and Peter Volpe.
Ms. Kellerman is gaining critical attention for her portrayal of the title role in Carmen after making her role début with Des Moines Metro Opera. “When Janara Kellerman struts on stage and launches into the famous Habanera’s slinky chromatic descent, it’s easy to forget everyone else. Her voice is simultaneously agile and strong… With her thick black hair, smoldering gaze and brazen swagger, Kellerman casts a spell more potent than any cloud of smoke. She deftly combines her character’s dramatic sense of abandon with the score’s demand for vocal control.” (Des Moines Register)
On the concert stage, Ms. Kellerman reunited with Robert Aldridge and the Topeka Symphony Orchestra for a world première as the alto soloist in his grand oratorio, Parables, and was later engaged for repeat performances. Other notable concert performances have included the alto solo in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony in her Avery Fisher Hall début; Azucena in Il Trovatore in concert with the Westfield Symphony; soloist in Mahler’sSymphony No. 2 with Dubuque Symphony Orchestra; a return to Iowa for a concert of Schumann works.
She has also performed the alto solos in Händel’s Messiah, Beethoven’s Mass in C Minor, Bach’s St. John’s Passion, Rossini’s Petite Messe Solenelle, Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, Mozart’s Requiem.
Prior engagements include a gala performance of excerpts from L’italiana in Algeri and Samson et Dalila with the New Jersey State Opera featuring Samuel Ramey and Paul Plishka; Amneris in Aïda and Fenena in Nabucco with New Jersey State Opera; and a return to New York City Opera for their production of Antony and Cleopatra and as the cover Carmen and Malcolm in Rossini’s La Donna del Lago. Ms. Kellerman also worked with Grammy-winning composer Robert Aldridge when she stepped in at the last minute as Sharon Falconer in his opera Elmer Gantry.
She is the recipient of the Richard F. Gold Career Grand from the Shoshana Foundation and a winner in the Koussevitzky and Liederkranz Competition, as well as, a finalist in the Jensen and YPO/FGO Competition and a semi-finalist in the 2015 Joy in Singing Competition.