Mezzo-soprano Kellie Van Horn was recently praised by critics for her Miami debut as Dido in Henry Purcell’s Dido and Aeneus with the chamber choir Seraphic Fire.  “The mezzo has a dark, rich voice yet handled the Baroque coloratura with assurance and brought a direct and honest expressive poise to her singing” (Miami Herald). The Palm Beach Post declared her “…a compelling heroine…” and lauded, “her voice is dark and lustrous.”  Earlier this season Kellie appeared as both Hermia (A Midsummer Night’s Dream) and Mercedes (Carmen) in her debut with the Des Moines Metro Opera as part of their 35th Anniversary Season.  She was also seen in Boston for the Jordan Hall debut of The Shakespeare Concerts, a series featuring the music of Wooster, Massachusetts, composer Joseph Summer.  Ms. Van Horn can be heard on Summer’s second Albany Records release Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day and will return to Jordan Hall for the 2008 season of The Shakespeare Concerts.   

In 2006 Van Horn appeared with Boston Midsummer Opera in its inaugural season, singing both Dorabella and Cherubino in a scenes production entitled The Marriages of Mozart.  She performed Prince Orlovsky (Die Fledermaus) with Sarasota Opera, where she has also sung the roles of Charlotte (Werther), Lola (Cavalleria rusticana), Mallika (Lakmé), and Dritte Dame (Die Zauberflöte).  The 2005 festival season saw Kellie’s portrayal of Lady Essex (Gloriana) for Opera Theatre of St. Louis, where she had previously debuted as Anne Morrow Lindbergh in the world premiere of Cary John Franklin’s Loss of Eden.  Of her performances, the Financial Times of London wrote:  “Kellie Van Horn explored the insecurities of Anne Morrow with physical dignity and vocal poise.”  The Dallas Morning News stated:  “Mezzo Kellie Van Horn made Anne Morrow Lindbergh’s lines sound like music, and she effectively suggested her character’s conflicted dignity.”  She later reprised the role with the Plymouth Music Series in Minneapolis. 

Other recent successes have included her portrayal of the title role in Carmen with Commonwealth Opera, her debut with Opera Colorado as Flora Bervoix (La Traviata), Siebel (Faust) with Connecticut Grand Opera, and the Old Lady (Candide) in concert with the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano.  As an apprentice artist with Santa Fe Opera for the 2000 and 2001 seasons, Ms. Van Horn appeared on the mainstage as Cefisa (Ermione) and the Dritte Magd (Elektra) in addition to covering the roles of Meg Page (Flastaff) and Margret (Wozzeck). 

Ms. Van Horn has appeared throughout Connecticut with numerous concert organizations, most notably the Hartford Symphony for whom she has sung Mozart’s Mass in C Minor and Handel’s Messiah.  Elsewhere she has performed a varied concert repertoire that includes Beethoven (Mass in C), Haydn (St. Nicholas Mass), Saint-Saëns (Christmas Oratorio), Rossini (Petite Messe solennelle), and Bach (Mass in B Minor and Magnificat). 

Kellie Van Horn earned her Master of Music in Voice and Opera from the Yale University School of Music, where she studied with celebrated contralto Lili Chookasian.  With Yale Opera she sang such varied roles as Bianca (The Rape of Lucretia), Ottavia (L’Incoronazione di Poppea), Siebel (Faust), and Frugola (Il Tabarro).