Bio

Melissa Plagemann has been praised by audiences and the press for her "clear, burnished voice" (Tacoma News Tribune) and "attractively expressive mezzo" (Crosscut Seattle). She performs frequently with the finest musical organizations throughout the Pacific Northwest, and is rapidly becoming known for the passion and musical intelligence she brings to performances on opera and concert stages alike.

In the 2009/10 season, Melissa makes her debut with the Tacoma Symphony, singing the alto solos in Handel's Messiah. She will also sing Messiahs with the Auburn Symphony and Orchestra Seattle. She returns to Orchestra Seattle for performances of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony and Saint-Saëns' Christmas Oratorio, and to the Northwest Puppet Center for Paisiello's Pulcinella Vendicato. Other return performances include The Nutcracker and West Side Story Suite with Pacific Northwest Ballet. In recital, she will join soprano Holly Boaz and pianist Shelby Rhoades in a program of songs for and about children (Pacific Lutheran University), and will sing works by Schubert, Brahms, and Shönberg in the Second City Chamber Series.

In the 2008/9 season, Ms. Plagemann returned to Tacoma Opera to sing the role of Isolier in Rossini's Le Comte Ory, and to Skagit Opera for performances as Flora in La Traviata. Concert performances included Mahler's Symphony #2 with Pacific Northwest Ballet, Chausson's Poème de l'Amour et de la Mer with the Auburn Symphony ("a powerful and moving experience" -- Seattle

P-I), and Mozart's Vesperae Solennes de Confessore with Orchestra Seattle. Recent opera roles for Ms. Plagemann include Carmen in semi-staged scenes with the Seattle Symphony, Dorabella in Così fan Tutte, Hänsel in Humperdinck's Hänsel und Gretel, Nicklausse/La Muse in Les Contes d'Hoffmann, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Tisbe in La Cenerentola, and both the 2nd and 3rd Ladies in Mozart's Magic Flute. On the concert stage, she has performed in several recent productions of Mozart's Requiem, Mendelssohn's Elijah, and Copland's In the Beginning, among others. Future performances include Rosina with the newly formed Vashon Opera, and appearances at the American Harp Society national conference.

Ms. Plagemann is rapidly gaining attention and critical acclaim for her interpretations of Baroque music, and has performed as a soloist in several masterpieces of J.S. Bach, including both Passions, Mass in B Minor, and Magnificat in D, as well as several of his Cantatas. Baroque opera roles include Sesto (Handel's Giulio Cesare), Dido in Dido and Aeneas, Aurora in Landi's Orfeo, and Penelope in Monteverdi's Il Ritorno d'Ulisse. Of a recent portrayal of Alcina in Francesca Caccini's La Liberazione di Ruggiero dall'Isola d'Alcina, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer noted that she "traversed the ornate roulades of Baroque vocal style with ease and aplomb." Recently, she was also seen as Damigella in the Seattle Early Music Guild's acclaimed production of Monteverdi's L'Incoronazione di Poppea. Handel's Messiah is a particular favorite, with the Seattle Baroque Orchestra, the Auburn Symphony, the Bellevue Philharmonic, Orchestra Seattle, and the Skagit Opera Orchestra. She has been a soloist in the annual Town Hall Bach Marathon in Seattle, singing Bach's Cantata #18 and J.C. Bach's Lament (Ach, daß ich Wassers gnug). Other Baroque oratorio repertoire includes Vivaldi's Gloria and Magnificat.

Ms. Plagemann is also an enthusiastic and sought-after performer of new music. As a member of the Opera as Theatre Program at the Banff Centre in 2007, she performed chamber pieces by Grammy-winning composer-in-residence Osvaldo Golijov, and took part in the premiere of the new Canadian Opera, Frobisher, by John Estacio and John Murrell. She has appeared with several ensembles dedicated to performing the works of living composers, including Sonic Lab, 16 visions/Fisher Ensemble, and the Esoterics vocal ensemble. She was a founding member of the Seattle New Music Ensemble, and with them had the opportunity to perform several staples of 20th century repertoire, including Schönberg's Pierrot Lunaire and John Cage's Aria.

Awards for Ms. Plagemann include first prizes in the competitions of the Ladies' Musical Club, the Seattle Musical Art Society and the Seattle Gilbert and Sullivan Society, and 3rd prize in the Sun Valley Opera Competition. She holds degrees in music from the University of Victoria, Canada, and Indiana University in Bloomington.