Kara Morgan

projects that broaden minds and inspire others. Her dedication to studying the art, languages, and characters of opera has been showcased on stages across the United States. Career highlights include apprenticeships with Sarasota Opera and Santa Fe Opera; mainstage credits with Fargo-Moorhead Opera, Pacific Opera Project, and An Opera Theatre; and recognition from the Schubert Club and Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competitions.

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Kara began 2024 by competing in the D'Angelo Young Artist Vocal Competition, where she was awarded First Place and a future mainstage contract with Opera Tampa. In March, she debuts the titular role of Ravel's L'enfant et les sortilèges with Salt Marsh Opera and this summer, she joins the world-renowned Merola Opera program in San Francisco. Kara then spends the 2024-25 season as a Resident Artist with Minnesota Opera, appearing as Stéphano in Roméo et Juliette and Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia.

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Recently, Kara graduated from the Master of Musical Arts program at Yale University where she was a member of the opera studio. Performances in 2023-24 kicked off with Kara's appearance as the alto soloist in Mahler's Symphony No. 3 with the Yale Philharmonia, Elm City Girls Choir, and Yale Glee Club, under the baton of principal conductor Peter Oundjian. In the spring, Kara sang Mother Goose in Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress and portrayed Anna I in Kurt Weill's Die sieben Todsünden. As a winner of the 2023 Woolsey Concerto Competition, she enjoyed the privilege of performing Mahler's Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen with the Philharmonia as part of the final concert in their 2023-24 season. Last year at Yale, Kara revisited Britten's tragic heroine in The Rape of Lucretia and debuted the role of Isolier in Rossini's medieval comedy, Le comte Ory.

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In Summer 2023, Kara joined Minnesota arts organization Mixed Precipitation in their touring production of Romeo & Juliet, an adaptation blending Bellini's I Capuleti e i Montecchi with the music of Fleetwood Mac. Kara debuted the role of Romeo in performances throughout the state of Minnesota, from Rochester to Grand Marais and everywhere in-between.

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Kara returned to Sarasota Opera as a Resident Artist for the 2021 winter festival as pandemic restrictions began to ease. During this residency, she appeared as Mercury in Purcell's Dido & Æneas and enjoyed the privilege of singing in Resident Artist productions of Dido (in the title role) and Rossini's one-act farce, Il signor Bruschino (as Marianna). In October 2021, Kara made her west coast and company debut with Pacific Opera Project as Hansel in Hansel & Gretel. The following April, she was home in Minneapolis debuting the title role in The Rape of Lucretia with An Opera Theatre.

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Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, Kara was a Young Artist with Fargo-Moorhead Opera, singing the roles of Dorabella in Così fan tutte and Mercédès in Carmen with the company. Following the residency in Fargo, Kara covered Dorabella in Mill City Summer Opera's July production of Così staged in the Mill City Museum ruins in Minneapolis. She also sang with Lakes Area Music Festival in Brainerd, MN covering the the title role of Offenbach's La belle Hélène, before returning to Fargo Moorhead Opera to make her mainstage and role debut as Hansel.

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Kara earned her Bachelor of Music Degree from Drake University and her Masters in Voice Performance at the New England Conservatory. As a student, she was heard as Mrs. Soames (Rorem's Our Town), Katisha (The Mikado), Dritte Dame (Die Zauberflöte), Madame de Croissy (Dialogues des Carmélites), Grimgerde (Die Walküre), and Ottone (Agrippina).

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A lover of art song, Kara enjoys programming lesser-heard and contemporary works with a focus on songs written by and about women. Past recitals have included repertoire by Montsalvatge, Debussy, Mahler, Hahn, Heggie, Margaret Bonds, Mel Bonis, Clara & Robert Schumann, Alaina Ferris, and Cheryl Frances-Hoad, among others. In Summer 2022, Kara partnered with longtime collaborator Carson Rose Schneider and Minnesota nonprofit organization, OOPS MN (Opera-Oriented Project Sponsorships), to create Ladies, Lyrics, & Lagers: a recital that was taken on tour to three popular Twin Cities breweries with the purpose of promoting song sets by two living women composers based in Minnesota, Linda Tutas Haugen and Edie Hill, and bringing well-sung art to a more relaxed, casual setting.

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Kara also enjoys collaboration in choral and orchestral works, appearing as a soloist with the Oratorio Society of Minnesota, the Bach Roots Festival, the CBA Orchestra, the Minnesota Saints Chorale & Orchestra, the Drake Choir, and singing Alcibiades and Phaedrus in an unconducted performance of Erik Satie's Socrate with the New England Conservatory Chamber Orchestra in Boston's historic Jordan Hall.

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Kara is based in Minnesota with her partner and dogs. Outside of music, enjoys hiking, crafting, and cooking.