BLYTHE SPIRIT

posted by James Reel

If you enjoyed seeing and hearing mezzo Stephanie Blythe in Arizona Opera’s production of The Mikado over the weekend, you’ll be happy to hear that Musical America has named her vocalist of the year. The honor, as usual, seems to recognize ongoing achievement rather than any particular accomplishments during the past 12 months. Here’s what the press release says about her:

“Mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe is a singer of extraordinary versatility, an artist who makes the most difficult challenges seem easy, with a big, warm, well-balanced tone throughout an exceptional range. Her latest roles in 15 years at the Metropolitan Opera will be Gluck’s Orfeo in January and Jezibaba in Dvorák’s _Rusalka_ in March, and next summer she sings the roles of Fricka and Waltraute in Seattle Opera’s production of Wagner’s Ring cycle.”

You can read a compact bio of her here, and find out who else got the nod from Musical America here.