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The American contralto, Kristin Starkey, obtained her Studied Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education + Guitar Performance from Long Island University C.W. Post Campus (Class of 2010); her Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance from Stony Brook University, New York (2013-2015); and her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Vocal Performance/Opera from Stony Brook University (2015-2018). Throughout her Doctorate and Masters, she studied with renowned soprano Brenda Harris.
Kristin Starkey made her opera debut in the spring of 2014 as Mrs. Grose in Benjamin Britten's Turn of the Screw with Stony Brook Opera, and since then performed many roles with various companies. Roles include Lucretia in B. Britten's Rape of Lucretia, La Cieca in La Gioconda, Erda in Das Rheingold, La Principessa in Suor Angelica, Grimgerde in Die Walkure, Myrtale in Thais, Il Tebro in O come chiare e belle, and Alisa in Lucia di Lammermoor. She has had partial roles as Dalila Camille Saint-Saëns' Samson et Dalila, Carmen in Georges Bizet's Carmen, Sorceress in Dido and Aeneas, Angelina in Cenerentola, Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier, Nicklausse and La Voix in Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Musette in Leoncavallo's La Bohème, Hermia in B. Britten's Midsummer Night’s Dream, Dorabella in W.A. Mozart's Così fan tutte and Arsamene in George Frideric Handel's Serse.
Reviewed as “a genuine plummy contralto that warmed the heart” (Parterre Box), Kristin Starkey has been making a name for herself within the mezzo and contralto repertoire with her unique vocal quality and dynamic range. In early 2020, she debuted the role of Madame de Croissy in Francis Poulenc's Dialogues des Carmélites with Stony Brook Opera as a returning alumni. In summer of 2019, she performed the role of Schwertleite in Die Walküre, First Norn in Götterdämmerung, and covered Zita in Gianni Schicci and Queen Leda in Die Liebe der Danae with Pittsburgh Opera Festival in their Mastersinger Project for Young Dramatic Voices program studying under Jane Eaglen. In January of 2018, she sang with The Metropolitan Opera workshopping Matt Aucoin’s exciting new commission, Eurydice, as the role of Big Stone. In 2017, she debuted Lucretia in Stony Brook Opera’s Rape of Lucretia. Other recent performances include Geneviéve in Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande, Third Lady in W.A. Mozart's Die Zauberflote with Occasional Opera Company, Opera Company of Brooklyn as Erda in Das Rheingold, La Cieca in La Gioconda, and with New York Lyric Opera as La Principessa in Puccini's Suor Angelica and as Grimgerde in Die Walkure. She was also a featured soloist with One World Symphony in the acclaimed Games of Thrones operasode performing Prokofiev’s Field of the Dead directed by Sung Jin Hong. The Guardian reviewed her as “the real standout…her surprising voice and doleful phrasing made this song effective." She has sung various solo and chamber repertoire, notably Gustav Mahler's Rückert-Lieder, in Austria with AlpenKammerMusik, a festival artist program. She has also been an Apprentice Artist for OperaNEO, a Young Artist Program out of San Diego performing the role of La Haine in Gluck’s Armide.
During the pandemic, Kristin Starkey branched out into the metal scene and has done numerous covers and collaborations with many metal artists and bands. Kristin Starkey moved to the Dalarna region of Sweden and enjoys spending time between there and New York, her home city. She currently lives in Falun, Sweden. |
