Emily Pulley - Nedda

Soprano

Portland Opera Debut

Soprano Emily Pulley’s radiant voice and electrifying acting have won her both national and international acclaim. Of her 2010 performance in Boston Lyric Opera’s The Turn of the Screw, Opera News said, “Emily Pulley was outstanding as the embattled Governess. The role fits Pulley’s voice like a glove, and she captured the psychological complexity and heartbroken innocence of one of Britten’s great tragic characters.” The New York Times describes her portrayal of the title role of Floyd’s Susannah as being, “sung with unfailing warmth, radiance, and spirit,” and elsewhere has lauded her singing as “faultless and exquisite.”

A frequent presence at the Metropolitan Opera, Ms. Pulley’s roles in the legendary house include Marguerite in Faust, Nedda in I Pagliacci, Blanche in Dialogues of the Carmelites, Gretel in Hänsel und Gretel, Anne Trulove in The Rake’s Progress, Musetta in La Bohème, Valencienne in The Merry Widow, Thérèse in Les Mamelles de Tirésias, and First Lady in a new production of Die Zauberflöte directed by Julie Taymor. She made her debut at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden as Mimi in La Bohème.

Ms. Pulley has delighted audiences across the country on the stages of New York City Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Dallas Opera, Minnesota Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Seattle Opera, Opera Colorado, and Central City Opera in such roles as Tatyana in Eugene Onegin, Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro, Fiordiligi in Così fan Tutte, Minnie in La Fanciulla del West, and Rosalinda in Die Fledermaus. A champion of new repertoire, she created the role of Lysia in the world premiere of Mark Adamo’s new opera, Lysistrata, in her Houston Grand Opera debut, which she then reprised for New York City Opera. She made her New York City Opera debut as Lavinia Mannon in Mourning Becomes Electra for which she won the New York City Opera Richard F. Gold Debut Artist Award.

Most recent career highlights include performances as the Governess in The Turn of the Screw with Boston Lyric Opera, Agathe in Der Freischütz with Opera Boston, the title role of Susannah at the Wexford Festival in Ireland, Carmina Burana and Nedda in I Pagliacci with Atlanta Opera, Blanche in Dialogues des Carmélites with Austin Lyric Opera, Marguerite in Faust with New Orleans Opera, Madame Lidoine in Dialogues of the Carmelites with Kentucky Opera, Josephine in H.M.S. Pinafore with Anchorage Opera, and Sarah in Jake Heggie’s The End of the Affair for Lyric Opera of Kansas City. She also returned to Central City Opera in the title role of Vanessa, the title role in Susannah and Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni.

In concert, most recent engagements include Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 at the Chautauqua Institution, First Lady in Bernstein’s A White House Cantata with New York City’s Collegiate Chorale, and the love duet from Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet with the Pacific Symphony.

Future engagements include Beatrice in Heggie’s Three Decembers with Central City Opera, Leonora in semi-staged performances of Fidelio at the Dayton Opera, Desdemona in Otello at the Arizona Opera, Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro at Opera Columbus, Mimi in La Bohème with the Eugene Opera, and Micaela in Carmen with the Brazos Valley Symphony.

A native of Texas, Ms. Pulley received the Richard F. Gold Career Grant from Central City Opera and the Jacobson Study Grant from the Richard Tucker Foundation. She is the 2006 recipient of New York City Opera’s Christopher Keene Award, recognizing an artist’s performance in new or unusual repertoire.