Biography
Sara Stewart’s distinct artistry, presence and rich vocal quality are leading the young soprano to an important operatic career. She performed several roles with the Baltimore Opera including the High Priestess in Aïda, Kate Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, Sister Catherine in Dead Man Walking, Lauretta in James Harp's adaptation of Puccini's Gianni Schicchi and Just Jeanette in Too Many Sopranos. Next, she will appear as Lucy in Menotti’s comic opera The Telephone with Opera AACC, and as the Blue Fairy in Pinocchio (music of Rossini) with the Opera Theatre of Northern Virginia.In January she will debut at Dicapo Opera Theatre in New Yorkas Lucy Perez in Thomas Pasatieri's Hotel Casablanca.
Ms. Stewart received her Graduate Performance Diploma from the Peabody Conservatory in 2002, under the tutelage of Stanley Cornett, where she performed the roles of Micaëla in La Tragédie de Carmen, the Sorceress in Dido and Aeneas and Cathleen in Vaughn Williams' Riders to the Sea. Additional recent operatic engagements include Mimì in La bohème with the A.A.M.S. Opera Ensemble, Josephine in H.M.S. Pinafore with the Young Victorian Theatre Company, Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro with the Frederick Camerata, and in the Annapolis Opera's productions of Romantic Divas and Amorous Dons and Vienna Dreams.
On the concert stage, Ms. Stewart has performed Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915, and John Tavener’s Akhmatova Songs with The Baltimore Sinfonietta, Immortal Italians, and A Celebration of American Opera concerts with the Baltimore Opera, Josephine in H.M.S. Pinafore with the Annapolis Choral Society, Mendelssohn’s Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt Walden with the Prince George Choral Society, and Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy with The Frederick Camerata. She is highly sought after as an entertainer and recitalist having performed for such organizations as the St. Cecelia Society Concert Series, the Three Arts Club, the Elkridge Club, the Woman’s Club of Roland Park, the Suburban Club, The Baltimore Opera Guild and many others. She was also honored to perform at a private mass and reception for Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
Ms. Stewart won 2nd place in the Maryland Opera Society Vocal Competition in 2007. In 2008, she was a finalist in the Altamura Caruso International Vocal Competition in New York, and a Semi-Finalist in the prestigious Leyla Gencer International Voice Competition in Istanbul, Turkey. She currently studies with Diana Soviero and Stanley Cornett.