Masterclass | Heather Buck, soprano

Praised by Opera News as “the kind of performer who makes it all look easy,” Heather Buck is best described by opera critic David Shengold as “a lithe and impactful actress with an uncommonly beautiful soprano for the high-lying and testing repertory she serves.” In the 2019-20 season, she sings Leïla in Les pêcheurs de perles with Opera in Williamsburg, Herodiade in Stradella’s San Giovanni Battista with Opera Omaha, Louis Karchin’s Four Songs on Poems by Seamus Heaney at the Bowling Green New Music Festival, and Carmina Burana with Symphony of Northwest Arkansas and West Virginia Symphony.

In the 2018-19 season, Ms. Buck sang Susanna in Laura Elise Schwendinger’s Artemisia at the Time’s Arrow Festival of Trinity Church Wall Street, a reprise of the title role of Charles Wuorinen’s Haroun and the Sea of Stories with Boston Modern Orchestra Project, and Four Songs on Poems by Seamus Heaney with Orchestra of the League of Composers. Her 2017-18 season included returns to New York City Opera to reprise the title role in Argento’s monodrama Miss Havisham’s Wedding Night, and Alma Beers in Wuorinen’s Brokeback Mountain, a role she first created with Teatro Real Madrid; to Odyssey Opera as Joan of Arc in Dello Joio’s The Trial at Rouen; and to Virginia Opera as Tytania in A Midsummer’s Night Dream. She sang as Merteuil in Luca Francesconi’s Quartett with West Edge Opera in the summer of 2018.

Ms. Buck recently made her LoftOpera debut in a staged production of Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, and created the role of Ku in Paola Prestini’s Gilgamesh with Beth Morrison Projects, and Persephone in Wachner’s Rev. 23 at the Prototype Festival. Other recent engagements include Philip Glass’ Symphony No. 5, with both the Washington Chorus at the Kennedy Center and Trinity Church Wall Street; Crumb’s Ancient Voices of Children and the American premiere of Lachenmann’s The Little Match Girl at Spoleto Festival USA; and a reprise of the Maid in Adès’ Powder Her Face with Teatro Arriaga Antzokia, Bilbao, a role she originally sang in the work’s U.S. premiere and filmed for the BBC.

Opera highlights include the world premiere of Haroun and the Sea of Stories with New York City Opera; Isabella Linton in the world premiere recording of Carlisle Floyd’s Wuthering Heights and Lulu Baines in the Grammy Award-winning Elmer Gantry with Florentine Opera; the U.S. premiere of Wolfgang Rihm’s monodrama Proserpina with Spoleto Festival USA; La Princesse in Glass’ Orphée with Pittsburgh Opera and Virginia Opera; Stella in A Streetcar Named Desire with Washington National Opera; Medea in Dusapin’s Medeamaterial with Teatr Wielki; and the Angel in the U.S. premiere of Dusapin’s Faustus: The Last Night at Spoleto Festival USA and Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw. She has sung the Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflöte with companies such as English National Opera, Santa Fe Opera, and Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.

Concert highlights include singing as soloist at the Beijing Summer Olympics; the U.S. premiere of Saariaho’s Leino Songs with American Composers Orchestra; Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with American Symphony Orchestra; Tan Dun’s Water Passion at the White Nights Festival in Russia; Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 and Mozart’s Requiem with Westchester Philharmonic; Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Five Images after Sappho with Utah Symphony; Druckman’s Counterpoise with Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group; and Messiah with Handel and Haydn Society and Pacific Symphony.

*Tickets not required