Christina English
Supports: Environmental Defense Fund (climate change), Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts (reproductive rights)
Known for her "agile mezzo-soprano voice" and "striking" presence, Christina English enjoys a versatile career that encompasses many genres. Her 2018-19 season includes Handel’s Messiah with Boston Baroque; Mendelssohn’s Elijah with Cambridge Community Chorus; Bach's St. John Passion with Resonance Works; and numerous performances with Lorelei Ensemble, including collaborations with Cantus, the Boston Symphony Orchestra (Puccini’s Suor Angelica; Debussy’s Nocturnes), and a world premiere by Kareem Roustom with Grammy-nominated chamber orchestra A Far Cry, based on Emily Wilson’s new translation of The Odyssey.
Recent stage roles include the Housekeeper in New Repertory Theater’s Man of La Mancha and Miss Prism in Odyssey Opera’s The Importance of Being Earnest; while her concert appearances include premieres with composer and sound artist Beau Kenyon; Britten and Bolcom’s Cabaret Songs with Boston Art Song Society; solo oratorio works with Rhode Island Philharmonic & Providence Singers, Newburyport Choral Society, and Choral Art Society; and regular appearances with the acclaimed Boston Baroque chorus.
Highlights of her 2017-18 season included Ligeti's Clocks and Clouds with Lorelei Ensemble at Tanglewood and the world premiere of THE_OPER& at Duke University with Lorelei. In past seasons, she has appeared with Beth Morrison Projects, St. Petersburg Opera (FL), Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Odyssey Opera, Guerilla Opera, Boston Midsummer Opera, Lyric Stage Company of Boston, Lorelei Ensemble, Boston Baroque, and Handel & Haydn Society Outreach. Christina appears as a soloist and ensemble member on albums with Boston Modern Orchestra Project (Four Saints in Three Acts; Kati Agócs: The Debrecen Passion), Monadnock Festival Orchestra (Our Town), and Lorelei Ensemble (Live Know Love; Reconstructed; Impermanence), as well as the forthcoming Odyssey Opera release of Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco's The Importance of Being Earnest.
Christina has been a core member of Lorelei Ensemble since 2008, and currently works as social media manager for the ensemble. A vocal chamber group known for its “pristine vocal tone” and unfailing display of the “elegance, power, and grace of the human voice,” Lorelei is committed to the expansion of the repertoire for women’s voices. Lorelei has commissioned and premiered more than fifty new works since its founding in 2007. Highlights with Lorelei include residencies and performances through the U.S. at venues including Boston Symphony Hall, Jordan Hall, The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Carnegie Hall, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.