With a rich timbre and effortless coloratura, soprano Elena Teresa Bird is a versatile, accomplished artist who brings vocal clarity and energetic character to the stage and conducting podium. Equally comfortable in opera, concert, and musical theatre repertoire, Elena is currently pursuing her DMA in Voice Performance and Choral Conducting at the University of Minnesota, where she also teaches undergraduate voice.
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Elena recently returned to her home state of Alaska to sing the soprano solos in Handel's Messiah for Anchorage Community Chorus and Orchestra's 70th Anniversary Season. Later that season, she brought opera to Alaska's Kenai Peninsula for the first time in three decades, performing Lucy in Menotti's The Telephone, with the Performing Arts Society of the Kenai Peninsula. Elena then made her debut with New Jersey Festival Orchestra, singing Annina in La traviata, with David Wroe conducting. Recently, Elena also performed the roles of Isabelle, Suor Genovieffa, and Nella, in The Face on the Barroom Floor, Suor Angelica, and Gianni Schicchi, at Fargo-Moorhead Opera as part of their Young Artist Program. Other recent appearances include performances in Los Angeles as part of OperaWorks’ Advanced Artist program and recording/starring in the title role of Germaine, a new opera by composer Wayne Walters.
Other roles include Sandrina (La finta giardiniera), Gretel (Hansel and Gretel), Miss Wordsworth (Albert Herring), Lucy Lockit (The Beggar’s Opera), and Königen der Nacht (Die Zauberflöte). Ms. Bird covered the roles of Zerlina and Giulietta while serving as an Artist-In-Residence with New York Lyric Opera Theater, where she also performed as a recitalist.
Her passion for sacred music, oratorio, and art song has led to concert appearances in Alaska, Colorado, Florida, Minnesota, New York, New Jersey, and Salzburg. Elena has performed twice with New Jersey's Masterwork Chorus, singing the soprano solos in Fauré's Requiem and Schubert's Mass in G. This summer, she was the soprano soloist for Wayne Walter's Requiem in D minor with Delaware Valley Choral society, and appeared with Harmonium Choral Society as the soprano soloist for Bach's St. Matthew Passion in April 2019.
Ms. Bird has been seen as Miss Dorothy (Thoroughly Modern Millie), Gianetta (The Gondoliers), and Fairy Godmother (The True Story of Cinderella) with Light Opera of New Jersey, as well as Johanna in Sweeney Todd. An advocate of community outreach and bringing new audiences to opera and classical voice, she performed as Rusalka in Florida State University’s outreach production, Rusalka, the Littlest Mermaid, and performed for over 5,000 students as a Gate City Bank Young Artist with Fargo-Moorhead Opera.
Ms. Bird received her Master of Music degree in Voice Performance from Florida State University and her Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and is a student of Trish McCaffrey. She recently moved to St. Paul, Minnesota, where she resides with her husband, two daughters, and springer spaniel.