Canadian Mikaela Bennett has sung in London, Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago, among others.
Sister Bay, Wis. (June 28, 2021) – Starting July 9 with Midsummer’s Kreutzer Connotations program, internationally renowned soprano Mikaela Bennett will perform in three concerts.
Mikaela Bennett is a graduate of The Juilliard School and is celebrated as a singer and actress for her work on stage and in the concert hall. She most recently appeared as a featured soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Gustavo Dudamel performing “Aurora” by Wayne Shorter. In 2019 Mikaela was honored with a Lincoln Center Award for Emerging Artists, made her debut at Lyric Opera of Chicago playing Maria in West Side Story, starred in the title role in Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella at the MUNY, returned to the BBC Proms with the John Wilson Orchestra performing music from the Warner Bros. film studio, and sang the role of Mary Wintergreen in MasterVoices’ production of Gershwin’s Let ‘Em Eat Cake at Carnegie Hall.
Hedy Weiss’ review of Lyric’s West Side Story for WTTW credited Mikaela’s “golden, richly emotional, octave-spanning, pitch-perfect voice with exceptional naturalness and ease” for navigating “the beauty and complexity of the operatic spine that supports Bernstein’s astonishing, virtuosic score.”
Mikaela made her professional debut starring as Penelope in The Golden Apple at City Center Encores! She originated the role of Norma in the new off-Broadway musical Renascence and originated the title role of Acquanetta in a new opera by Michael Gordon and directed by Daniel Fish.
Mikaela made her BBC Proms debut at London’s Royal Albert Hall starring as Maria in the John Wilson Orchestra’s production of West Side Story, and she debuted with the New York Philharmonic under Leonard Slatkin and the Philadelphia Orchestra under Yannick Nézet-Séguin. Mikaela performed as a featured soloist in Bernstein on Broadway at the Kennedy Center under Rob Fisher. She collaborated multiple times with conductor Ted Sperling, most recently at Carnegie Hall performing Gershwin and as the soprano soloist in Händel’s Israel in Egypt with Orchestra of St Luke’s. She appeared with the San Francisco Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic and New World Symphony under Michael Tilson Thomas for the world premiere of Four Preludes on Playthings of the Wind.
Midsummer’s Kreutzer Connotations program spotlights Beethoven’s Kreutzer Sonata – one of the most famous violin sonatas – Danzas de Panama by African American composer William Grant Still, and the world premiere of Transit – featuring Ms. Bennett – by Midsummer’s 2021 Composer-in-Residence Will Healy. July 9 at 7:00pm at the Kress Pavilion in Egg Harbor; July 10 at 7:00pm at the Old Gibraltar Town Hall in Fish Creek; and July 11 at 4:00pm at Woodwalk Gallery in Egg Harbor. In addition to Ms. Bennett, musicians include David Perry and Ann Palen, violins, Allyson Fleck, viola, and James Waldo, cello.
Reservations for all concerts and events must be made at least 24 hours in advance. Before making plans or purchasing tickets, attendees should review Midsummer’s COVID-19 policy at midsummersmusic.com.
Tickets for all concerts are $30 for adults and can be ordered at www.midsummersmusic.com or by phone at 920-854-7088. Call the office for youth ticket prices. All programs are subject to change.
Midsummer’s Music was co-founded in 1990 by Jim and Jean Berkenstock, long-time Door County summer residents and principal orchestral players with the Lyric Opera of Chicago. What began as two concerts among friends has become one of the Midwest’s most anticipated chamber music series, bringing thousands of chamber music enthusiasts from around the globe to the magical Door County Peninsula.