Whether sparking the stage aflame with her fiery and sensual Carmen or dissolving an audience into laughter with her dry and witty Orlofsky, mezzo-soprano Cheryse McLeod Lewis brings a striking vocal and physical presence to the stage. Of Ms. Lewis' debut as Carmen with Asheville Lyric Opera and South Carolina Opera, Martha A. Fawbush of the Asheville Citizen-Times commended Lewis' voice for filling the hall with "stunning vocal power" and for moving "effortlessly from laughing flirtation to...Carmen's fiery emotional reactions." For her role as Hansel in Hansel and Gretel with Connecticut Opera, David Shengold of Opera News Online praised Ms. Lewis for her "rich lyric-mezzo sound" and "endearing characterizations".
Ms. Lewis most recently created the role of the Ernie Higgins Jazz Band Singer in the World Premiere American Opera Picnic by Libby Larsen (University of NC at Greensboro Opera Theatre). Other recent engagements include the title role in Carmen (Capital Opera Raleigh, Asheville Lyric Opera); Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia (Asheville Lyric Opera, Mansfield Symphony, Central Georgia Opera Guild); Hansel in Hansel and Gretel (Connecticut Opera; Greensboro Opera); The Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors (Opera Carolina; Connecticut Opera); Prince Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus (Greensboro Opera); Flora in La Traviata (Piedmont Opera); the Page in Salome (The Opera Company of NC; Connecticut Opera); and Papagena in The Magic Flute (Houston Ebony Opera).
On the concert stage, Ms. Lewis has appeared as the Mezzo-Soprano Soloist in The Messiah with the Greensboro Oratorio Society and as a soloist with The Opera Company of NC in their popular "Evening of Carolina Voices" concert. She also performs in concert with her duo group Eleganza. Recent engagements for Eleganza include performances/lectures on the lyceum series at Mount Olive College, NC A&T State University, Concord University, Johnson C. Smith University, and the Saint Stephen’s Episcopal Church Concert Series. Eleganza will release its first commercial cd in November 2009.
Ms. Lewis is also the recipient of several prestigious vocal competition prizes including First Prize in the 2007 Heafner-Williams Vocal Competition, Fourth Prize in the 2005 Charles Lynam Vocal Competition, Second Prize in the 2004 Connecticut Opera Guild Competition, and Second Prize in the 2001 Opera Guild of Charlotte Competition.
Ms. Lewis, a native of Greensboro, NC, earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Vocal Performance from Carnegie Mellon University, her Master of Music in Vocal Performance from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and her Professional Artist Certificate from the A.J. Fletcher Opera Institute at the North Carolina School of the Arts.
As of August 2009
