Emily Birsan

A native of Neenah, Wisconsin, soprano Emily Birsan is a second-year Ryan Opera Center member. She was awarded first place in the 2011 Union League Civic and Arts Foundation competition and received Encouragement Awards from the Metropolitan Opera National Council Regional Auditions in 2008 and 2009. Previously she was the recipient of the first award for Outstanding Female Singer and First Place Senior Women at the National Association of Teachers of Singing competition. While studying at Lawrence University, Birsan sang the roles of Pamina/The Magic Flute, Mistress Ford/The Merry Wives of Windsor, and Madame Goldentrill/Mozart's The Impresario. Her education continued as a Paul J. Collins Fellow at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she performed the title roles in Alcina, Thaïs, and Maria Stuarda. The soprano has participated in the Bay Area Summer Opera Theater Institute (Nella/Gianni Schicchi) and the Voci nel Montefeltro Academy in Italy (Nannetta/Falstaff). Birsan was a member of the 2010 James Collier Young Artist Program at Des Moines Metro Opera, covering the role of the Countess/The Marriage of Figaro, and debuted with Madison Opera as Barbarina/The Marriage of Figaro later that year. Recent concert engagements include the Grant Park Music Festival. She made her Lyric debut in 2011-12 as Stella/The Tales of Hoffmann and later appeared as Xenia/Boris Godunov. This season at Lyric she appears in Elektra, Hansel and Gretel, and Rigoletto.