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Mezzo-soprano, Rebecca Sacks, is known for her dynamic stage presence, smart musicality, and stylistic versatility.
In the summer of 2019, audiences saw her as Queen Alkmene in Pittsburgh Festival Opera’s production of Strauss’ rarely performed masterpiece Die Liebe Der Danae where she was praised for “engaging” and “tuneful” performance (George B. Parous/ PGH in the Round). Also at Pittsburgh Festival Opera, she made her Wagnerian debut as a member of Jane Eaglen’s Mastersingers Program for Young Dramatic Voices, singing the role of Grimgerde in The Valkyrie and performing scenes from Tristan und Isolde as Brangäne.
In February, 2020 she joined Fargo-Moorhead Opera as a Gate-City Bank Young Artist, performing the role of the Waitress in Michael Ching’s Speed Dating Tonight!. She was additionally scheduled to sing Mamma Lucia and cover Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana with Fargo-Moorhead Opera prior to cancellations due to COVID-19.
In 2021, she plans to rejoin Wilmington Concert Opera as a soloist on their Bel Canto: The Beautiful Voice concert and then travel to Miami to sing Fricka in Das Rheingold with Miami Music Festival’s prestigious Wagner Institute.
Other operatic performances include Komponist (Ariadne auf Naxos) with the Miami Music Festival, Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni) with Wilmington Concert Opera, Hänsel (Hänsel und Gretel) with Portland Opera to Go, and Dorabella (Così fan tutte) with the Astoria Music Festival.
A champion of new music, Ms. Sacks has premiered concert works including The Prayer of Saint Francis with University of Oregon’s Composer’s Symposium. She additionally participated in a premiere recording of Simon Hutchinson’s opera, A Lawn in the Sky, with the Tai Hei Ensemble in Eugene, Oregon. Ms. Sacks’ concert repertoire has included Händel’s Messiah with the Bravo Chorale and Monteverdi’s Vespri della Beata Vergine of 1610 with the Stanford University Singers.
On the competition circuit, Ms. Sacks was awarded 3rd Place in the 2019 American Prize in Opera, the Berstein Award in the 2018 Orpheus Competition, and fifth place at the 2016 National Association of Teachers of Singing Artist Awards.
A Northern California native, Ms. Sacks began her vocal training in musical theatre before studying voice at Stanford University and then receiving her Masters of Music from the Hugh Hodgson School of Music at the University of Georgia in 2018.