Favored by many to be the most important winner of the Luciano Pavarotti Vocal Competition in her early twenties, Kallen Esperian has partnered star quality like Pavarotti and Domingo from La Scala to the Metropolitan Opera. She was featured in the film ‘Distant Harmony’ while in China with the great Pavarotti and in recent years has emerged as the ‘Verdi’ soprano of choice by international opera houses.

 Kallen Esperian began the 2000-2001 season performing Elisabetta in Don Carlo again after taking part in the new production at the Bayerische Staatsoper under the direction of Zubin Mehta last summer. She also recently had a triumph in Carnegie Hall in one of her signature roles – Desdemona, opposite the Otello of Carlo Begonzi! She has been performing in the world’s preeminent opera houses for a dozen years and has evolved into a world-renowned Verdi soprano.

1999-2000 began with her Alice in Chicago’s opening night Falstaff and continued with her Dallas Opera debut as Rosalinde in their new Fledermaus. A winner of the 1985 Luciano Pavarotti International Voice Competition, she has since performed on the stages of the Metropolitan Opera, Covent Garden, La Scala, Vienna, Opera de Paris, Teatro Colon, Buenos Aires, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Deutsche Opera and Staatsoper/Berlin, Teatro Comunale, Bologna, San Carlo, Napoli, and the Arena di Verona.

Highlights from recent seasons have included: Desdemona at the Teatro Comunale Bologna, Liu in Chicago, and both Desdemona and Amelia (Simon Boccanegra) at Covent Garden, Traviata with Opera Memphis and Norma with both Pittsburgh Opera and Opera Memphis. Earlier career highlights have included the Metropolitan Opera Opening Night Gala in 1993 with Pavarotti and Domingo; a great triumph as Desdemona to Placido Domingo’s Otello with the Opera National de Paris Bastille; the soprano lead Lina for La Scala’s first-ever Stiffelio with Jose Carreras.

She has performed numerous concerts with Luciano Pavarotti, some of them televised on PBS. A CD and video of her Pavarotti Plus at Royal Albert Hall was released by Decca in 1996. She also has an album of American Folk Songs, entitled “AMERICAN TREASURE” on the Pro Organo label.

In addition to opera, Ms. Esperian is a wonderful recitalist and concert performer. She is one of tbe “Three Sopranos” who have concertized throughout the world. She has performed with many of the world’s major orchestras and has sung numerous performances of the Verdi Requiem with many of the world’s great conductors including: Sir Colin Davis, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Robert Shaw, Daniele Gatti, Daniel Oren and David Zinman.