Hailed by Opera News Magazine as “a wonderfully promising, rich dramatic soprano” and “a master of her craft” by Opera Wire, Meghan Kasanders is quickly establishing herself as a rising star in the world of classical music.  In the 23/24 season, she debuts with The Dallas Opera in Elektra (Fünfte Magd) and Dallas Symphony Orchestra for Das Buch mit sieben Siegeln conducted by Fabio Luisi. Meghan will also present a recital produced by Carnegie Hall Citywide in New York City and return to the role of Sieglinde from Die Walküre in Kansas City Lyric Opera’s semi-staged production of ‘Journey to Valhalla.’

 

A 2019 Grand Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, Ms. Kasanders was celebrated by the New York Times as “a soprano who brought a gleaming sound and ample carrying power” to her performances, offering the competition an “authentically Wagnerian sound,” and received both First Prize and the Audience Choice Award in the Dallas Opera Guild Vocal Competition that same year. She has also been recognized by the Gerda Lissner Foundation, Opera Birmingham, and the Mildred Miller International Voice Competition, where she won first prize in 2017 as the youngest competitor. 

Ms. Kasanders has sung a wide variety of roles on the opera stage at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Virginia Opera, Staatsoper Hannover, Opera Columbus, Des Moines Metro Opera, Opera Saratoga, Baltimore Opera, Opera Ithaca, Raylaynmor Opera, and Union Avenue Opera, as well as concert and solo recital work with the Juilliard Orchestra at Carnegie Hall and Anne Tully Hall, the Nürnberg Symphony Orchestra, Song Studio at Carnegie Hall, Des Moines Metro Opera, Lubbock Symphony Orchestra, the University of Notre Dame, and Simpson College. She has worked with a number of the world’s leading conductors, including Marin Alsop, Barbara Hannigan, Leonard Slatkin, Richard Bado, Joseph Colaneri, Carlo Rizzi, Stephen Stubbs, Gianandrea Noseda, Adam Turner, Kelly Kuo, Andrew Bisantz, and Michael Hofstetter. 

Meghan’s training includes past resident artist apprenticeships with International Meistersinger Akademie (Neumarkt, Germany), Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Des Moines Metro Opera, Opera Saratoga, and Dolora Zajick’s Institute for Young Dramatic Voices. Ms. Kasanders holds degrees from Simpson College, Rice University, and The Juilliard School, where she was the recipient of The Richard F. Gold Career Grant. Her mentors and teachers include the late Robert L. Larsen, Kimberly Roberts, Richard Bado, the late Barbara Paver, Edith Wiens, Mary Birnbaum, and Stephen Wadsworth.