Misa Ann Iwama, Mezzo SopranoMisa Ann Iwama
Mezzo Soprano
"the gift of utter conviction in everything she does" Boston Globe
Biography, 2001-2002
Lyric mezzo soprano Misa Ann Iwama recently appeared as Stephano in Gounod's Romeo et Juliette with Opera Carolina and was Lady Thiang on Broadway in the Tony Award-winning production of The King & I. She was heard as Zerlina in Opera Carolina's Don Giovanni and has appeared with that company as a resident artist. Also as a resident artist, she performed with the Opera Festival of New Jersey in An Aesop Odyssey. In the summer of1998 she appeared with Bershire Opera in their production of Mozart's Magic Flute. In the 1996-97 season she performed as Zerlina in Don Giovanni with Bronx Opera, and also appeared with the Opera Festival of New Jersey as Annina in their production of La Traviata, as well as in the American premiere of The Silence Tree. Ms. Iwama has performed extensively with the New York City Opera National Company in its tour of La Traviata, singing the roles of Flora and Annina. Her repertoire includes Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro, a role which she has performed with Opera Carolina and Piedmont Opera. Additional performances with Opera Carolina include Die Zauberflöte, The Mikado, and Hänsel und Gretel. She has appeared with Florida Grand Opera as the Madrigal Singer in Manon Lescaut, and also as the Fanciulla in the American premiere of Cristoforo Colombo. At Central City Opera in Colorado, she sang the roles of Javotte in Manon and Stephano in Romeo et Juliette, and has also been featured in Glimmerglass Opera's acclaimed production of Paul Bunyan.
Misa Ann Iwama, who was born with perfect pitch, is a sought-after performer
of classical, as well as contemporary music. She recently performed with Musica Viva in Lully's Dies Irae and Bach's Christmas Oratorio. She was a Fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center, and has been presented in composers' concerts at Harvard and Brandeis Universities. In the Boston area, she appeared as the soloist in Copland's In the Beginning, Berio's Folk Songs, Berg's Altenberg Lieder, Corigliano's Fern Hill, and Lennon's Ghost Fires at venues which include historic Jordan Hall, Underground Composers of Boston, and Educational Public Television. With New York Concert Opera she appeared in productions of Rigoletto and La Traviata, as well as excerpts of Werther, Hansel and Gretel, La Boheme and Madama Butterfly. Among Ms. Iwama's orchestral engagements are the
Colorado Symphony Orchestra, the Miami Symphony Orchestra, and the Miami
Chamber Symphony. She most recently appeared with the New Haven Symphony in a program of Lerner and Loewe and twice as a soloist in the St.
Bartholomew Festival of Sacred Music. With her sister, the accompanist Kayo
Iwama, she has appeared in recitals throughout the Northeast. Ms. Iwama graduated magna cum laude with distinction from Yale College and received a Masters degree from the New England Conservatory.
Contact Rick Hartung hartung@bway.net
