Olivia Currier, mezzo-soprano

Olivia Currier completed her undergraduate degree in Music at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas, in December of 2022. During her studies, she realized her love and affinity for the art of opera and classical singing under the tutelage of Dr. Rebecca Hays, Dr. William Averill, and Gerald Dolter. As a promising young talent with Texas Tech Opera Theatre, she performed the roles of Second Witch in Purcell’s Dido and Æneas, Madame de Croissy in Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites, Shirley Kaplan in Weill’s Street Scene, and Sesto in Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito. She also participated in young artist programs such as Matador Opera Workshop, where she performed the roles of Dorabella in Mozart’s Cosí fan tutte and Cherubino in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro; and Music in the Marche, where she performed the role of La zia principessa in Puccini’s Suor Angelica. Outside of her operatic endeavors, she served as a Choral Scholar for Quintessence: A Community of Singers in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and as a Scholarship Singer with the Lubbock Chorale, where she was the alto soloist for Britten’s cantata Rejoice in the Lamb. She also performed with the TTU Celtic Ensemble/Elegant Savages Orchestra and competed in the TTU Ballroom Dance Team.

As a blossoming singer newly embracing the world of competitions, she was a Semifinalist and Finalist in the Texoma NATS competition and a 1st Place winner of the DFW/Panhandle NATS division. She also received 3rd Place in the Charleston International Baroque Music Competition, 3rd Place in the Rocky Mountain Spring Music Competition, 1st Place in the Charleston International European Music Competition, the Grand Prize in the 21st Century Talents Music Competition, 1st Prize in the IMKA Internet Music Competition, 3rd Prize in the Medici International Music Competition, 2nd Place in the American Classical Young Musician Awards,  2nd Prize in the Marker and Pioneer International Music Competition, and was a Semifinalist in Teatro Grattacielo’s Camerata Bardi International Vocal Competition.

 

Her professional operatic breakthrough was sparked with the Amarillo Opera’s 2022 outreach production of John Davies’ children’s opera, The Billy Goats Gruff, where Olivia sang the role of Dandini. Shortly after she graduated with her Bachelor’s, she began a season as an Apprentice Artist with the Sarasota Opera in 2023, where she was a chorister in their mainstage productions and performed on various concerts, including scenes as Maffio Orsini in Donizetti’s Lucrezia Borgia, Prince Orlofsky in Strauss II’s Die Fledermaus, Dorothée in Massenet’s Cendrillon, and Isolier in Rossini’s Le comte Ory. She has since maintained a steady schedule of performances, with her role as Edna in Joe Illick’s Stone Soup in Opera Steamboat’s 2023 outreach project soon following her tenure at Sarasota, as well as her professional mainstage debut as Béatrice in Shakespeare Opera Theatre’s hybrid production of Berlioz’s Béatrice et Bénédict and Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing.

In September of 2023, Ms. Currier relocated to Bayonne, New Jersey to further pursue her operatic career, yielding great success. She made her role debut as Prinz Orlofsky with Music on Site, Inc., her New York City debut in Teatro Grattacielo’s production of Gaspare Spontini’s rare gem, La Vestale, her Philadelphia debut as Beppe in Mascagni’s L’amico Fritz with Amici Opera Company, and her Lincoln Center debut in Marshall Opera’s Oral History Project and Concert, where she sang a selection from Mikel Rouse’s opera Failing Kansas. As a recurring favorite of the New Jersey Lyric Opera, she sang the role of Kate Pinkerton in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, Un pastore in Puccini's Tosca, Contessa di Ceprano in Verdi’s Rigoletto, and covered the role of Giannetta in Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore. She continued to see success in competitions, including 1st Prize at the Nouvelles Etoiles Online Music Competition, 2nd Place in the American Music Talent Competition, 2nd Prize in the Concorso Internazionale per Giovani Musicisti Città di Massa, and the Montpelier Arts Center Classical Recital Competition, of which she was a winner and subsequently performed a solo recital at the Montpelier Arts Center in Laurel, Maryland. She was also named a recipient of the Anna Sosenko Assist Trust.

 

Olivia Currier currently resides in Waco, Texas. She is pursuing her Master’s of Music in Vocal Performance at Baylor University under the guidance of Dr. Robert Best, Dr. Jeffrey Peterson, and Kathleen Kelly. During her studies, she has performed the role of Die Knusperhexe in Humperdinck's Hänsel und Gretel with Baylor Opera Theatre, received 5th Place in the Advanced Classical Treble divison of Texoma NATS, 1st Place at the Central Texas songSLAM Competition, hosted by Lone Star Songs, and was a Finalist in the International Opera Institute's Las Vegas Vocal Competition. Still an active performer, she will perform the role of Le comte Barigoule in Viardot’s Cendrillon with Baylor Opera Theatre. This summer, she will return to Shakespeare Opera Theatre to sing the role of Gertrude in Roméo et Juliette, as well as cover the roles of Roßweiße in Die Walküre and Zweite Norn in Götterdämmerung at TUNDI Production’s Wagner in Vermont Festival. She will also travel to Berlin, Germany as a Frank Nemhauser Vocal Apprentice with Berkshire Choral International.

Outside of her operatic career, Olivia is an active church musician and currently serves as a Staff Singer at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church. She is also a Music Teacher at Guitar Center, and has been teaching voice for over 5 years. In her spare time, she loves to write in her diary (she has been keeping diaries for 11 years!), drink overpriced lattes and people watch at her local coffee shop, take long walks, and do just about everything with her amazing partner, Justin, who also happens to be an extremely talented (and handsome) opera singer!