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Karen Slack

“...the feisty, rich-voiced soprano Karen Slack”
— The New York Times
 

  • She has received critical acclaim for her dynamic performances in both lead operatic roles and on the concert stage, and as a sought-after collaborator who is known as a leader and advocate, as a curator and artistic advisor, and for her ground-breaking approach to engagement.

  • During the 2022-2023 season, Ms. Slack will give premiere performances of six new concert works written for her from chamber works by composers James Lee III, Tamar-kali, Shawn Okpebholo, and Adolphus Hailstork, to two new large-scale orchestral works by Hannibal Lokumbe.

    Additional orchestral appearances include a performance at Carnegie Hall with Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and a reprise of her solo role in Damien Geter’s Justice Symphony and Beethoven Symphony No. 9. Rounding out her concert stage performances will be featured roles in two major opera productions in the Canada and the US — the lead role in Tosca with Edmonton Opera and Freia in Das Rheingold with Dallas Opera.

  • During the 2020-2021 season she served as the Co-Director for the Opera Program at the Banff Centre for the Performing Arts and as Co-Chair of the Women’s Opera Network with Opera America.

Opera Booking Engagements:

Colin Michael Brush, Agent - Classical & Europe
UIA Talent Agency
cbrush@uiatalent.com

Known for performances that “ripped the audience’s hearts out” (Opera News), Karen Slack is “not only one of the nation's most celebrated sopranos, but a leading voice in changing and making spaces in classical music” (Trilloquy). A recipient of the 2022 Sphinx Medal of Excellence, Slack is a sought-after collaborator, curator, and artistic advisor known for her fiery charisma and ground-breaking approach to engagement. She is an Artistic Advisor for Portland Opera, serves on the board of the American Composers Orchestra and Astral Artists, and holds a faculty position at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in Alberta, Canada. Slack debuted the role of Billie in the 2019 world premiere of Terence Blanchard’s Fire Shut Up in My Bones and made her film debut portraying the Opera Diva in Tyler Perry’s movie and soundtrack For Colored Girls.

Highlights of Slack’s 2023-2024 season include her solo debut with the New York Philharmonic, performing Beethoven’s Ah, Perfido! Op. 65 at David Geffen Hall, and her debut as a guest artist with Chamber Music Detroit, where she will give masterclasses and headline two programs: performing as a soloist in Of Thee I Sing, curated by Slack as a call for racial justice and an appeal to the healing power of love, and appearing alongside the Pacifica Quartet in works by Beethoven, Price, and James Lee III – whose featured work, A Double Standard, was commissioned for Slack and the Quartet by Carnegie Hall, Chamber Music Detroit, and Shriver Concert Series. In conjunction with Sparks and Wiry Cries, she performs in two productions of Songs in Flight, composer Shawn Okpebholo’s program exploring the stories of enslaved people who fled captivity, and she returns to the Dallas Symphony Orchestra for selections from the Great American Songbook. Slack returns to Bogotá, Colombia for a recital at the Festival Internacional de Música Sacra Bogotá and continues her deep collaboration with the Pacifica Quartet later this season with performances presented by Denver Friends of Chamber Music.

In addition to her appearances on orchestral, chamber music, and recital stages this season, Slack embarks upon an ambitious new recording project in collaboration with ONEComposer and pianist Michelle Cann, to be released later this season on Azica Records. In August 2024, Slack unveils her new commissioning project African Queens, an evening-length vocal recital of new art songs celebrating the history and legacy of seven African queens, revered as rulers but not widely heralded in the western world. The program weaves this historical narrative through new works by acclaimed composers Jasmine Barnes, Damien Geter, Jessie Montgomery, Shawn Okpebholo, Dave Ragland, Carlos Simon, and Joel Thompson along with carefully selected traditional repertoire – further illuminated through passages of spoken text and thematic artwork.

  • Over recent seasons, Slack has amassed a body of work reflecting her dedication to premiering works by living composers, with particular focus on using her platform to elevate works by Black artists. During the 2022-2023 season, she premiered Songs in Flight at The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society and appeared in two separate world premieres by Hannibal Lokumbe, performing as a soloist with the Nashville Symphony (The Jonah People) and Oklahoma City Philharmonic (Trials, Tears, Transcendence: The Journey of Clara Luper). She premiered Jasmine Barnes’ Songs of Paul, a tribute to Paul Robeson, with Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and was featured soloist in the premiere of Damien Geter’s Justice Symphony with the Fresno Symphony and The Washington Chorus. Slack made her Houston Grand Opera debut in the world premiere of Joel Thompson and Andrea Davis Pinkney's A Snowy Day and, in January 2022, was appointed Creative Partner with Brooklyn’s National Sawdust.

    When the pandemic limited live performances during the 2020-2021 season, Slack made premiere digital performances with Houston Grand Opera, Madison Opera, and Minnesota Opera. She also starred in a new production of the opera Driving While Black, presented by UrbanArias, and launched a digital talk show, #kikikonversations, drawing acclaim from Opera News and The New York Times. She co-created and performed in #saytheirnames – Women of the Movement, a film recital and production in partnership with Philadelphia’s Lyric Fest, performed in recital for Opera Philadelphia. Appearing alongside actor/narrator Liev Schreiber, she was featured in Orpheus Chamber Orchestra’s Speaking Truth to Power program, hosted by livestream platform Idagio.

    Slack recently appeared in the role of Freia in Das Rheingold with the Dallas Opera and sang the title role in Aïda at Opera Carolina. She has performed on the stages of the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Washington National Opera, Scottish Opera, San Francisco Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Austin Opera, New Orleans Opera, Minnesota Opera, Vancouver Opera, Edmonton Opera, Sacramento Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Madison Opera, and Arizona Opera, among others.

    Equally at home on the concert stage, Slack has performed Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, Mahler’s 2nd Symphony, Strauss’s Vier Letzte Lieder, and the Verdi Requiem with various orchestras throughout the United States. She was featured in her first performances of Chausson’s Poème de l’amour et la mer with the Omaha Symphony in collaboration with Opera Omaha. Abroad, she has appeared with the Melbourne Symphony, Sydney Symphony, and Bergen Philharmonic Orchestras, as well as with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic in celebration of the 80th birthday of conductor Yuri Temirkanov. Slack made her Carnegie Hall debut as Agnes Sorel in Tchaikovsky’s Maid of Orleans with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s. She performed as a soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra in the world premiere of Hannibal Lokumbe’s Healing Tones with conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Union Symphony Orchestra for Wagner’s Wesendonk Lieder.

    A native Philadelphian, Slack is a graduate of the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music, as well as the Adler Fellowship and the Merola Opera Program at the San Francisco Opera. She is the winner of numerous competitions and awards – most notably the Montserrat Caballé International Competition, Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, George London Foundation Award, Marian Anderson ICON Award, Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation, Rosa Ponselle International Vocal Competition, Portland Opera Lieber Award, Liederkranz Foundation Award and the Jose Iturbi International Competition for Voice.

    For more information, please visit www.sopranokarenslack.com

    August 2023 – Please do not edit without permission.

Videos

 

Programs & Repertoire

 

  • Black History Month & Martin Luther King Jr. Day

    William Grant Still: Serenade
    John La Montaine: Songs of the Rose of Sharon, Op. 6
    OR
    George T. Walker: Lilacs for Voice and Orchestra
    Damien Geter: Symphony No. 1, The Justice Symphony
    John Carter: Cantata


    INDEPENDENCE DAY

    Featuring soprano soloist:
    Samuel Barber: Knoxville, Summer 1915
    Nkeiru Okoye: Songs of Harriet Tubman
    John La Montaine: Songs of the Rose of Sharon, Op. 6
    Selection of American songs: George Gershwin: The Man I Love
    Someone to Watch Over Me
    Summertime
    I Got Rhythm

    Selected songs to be mutually agreed in discussion:
    Songs by Cole Porter, Rogers & Hammerstein
    Songs by Florence Price
    Traditional - spirituals and gospel

    Orchestral:
    William Dawson: Negro Folk Symphony
    Edmond Dede: Chicago
    Damien Geter: Symphony No. 1, The Justice Symphony
    Florence Price: Symphony No. 1 in E-minor
    Florence Price: Andante moderato (for string orchestra)
    Rick Robinson: Gitcha Groove On!
    Kevin Scott: Fanfare G.A.F.: An American Overture
    William Grant Still: Afro-American Symphony

    HOLIDAY AND WINTER PROGRAMMING

    Featuring soprano soloist (traditional):
    Charles Gounod: Messe solennelle en l’honneur de Sainte-Cécile
    G.F. Handel: Messiah, HWV 56
    Felix Mendelssohn: Elijah (oratorio)
    Sergei Rachmaninoff: The Bells, Op. 35
    Camille Saint-Säens: Christmas Oratorio (Oratorio de Noël), Op. 12

    Featuring soprano soloist (contemporary):
    Ernest Chausson: Poème de l'amour et de la mer (Poem of Love and the Sea), Op. 19
    John La Montaine: Songs of the Rose of Sharon, Op. 6
    Sir Michael Tippett: A Child of Our Time
    Five Spirituals
    Ralph Vaughan-Williams: Dona Nobis Pacem

    Selection of American songs:
    George Gershwin: The Man I Love
    Someone to Watch Over Me
    Summertime
    I Got Rhythm

    Selected songs to be mutually agreed in discussion:
    Songs by Cole Porter, Rogers & Hammerstein
    Songs by Florence Price
    Traditional - spirituals and gospel

    InSTILLness: WORKS OF WILLIAM GRANT STILL

    Featuring soprano soloist:
    William Grant Still: Wailing Woman
    Grief
    Citadel
    Here’s One

    Selected arias from the operas of William Grant Still:
    In Ages Past, from A Bayou Legend
    Golden Days, from Costaso
    This Strange Awakening, from Mota

    To be programmed alongside orchestral works by William Grant Still

    AMERICAN OPERA ARIAS IN CONCERT

    Samuel Barber: “Give Me My Robe” from Antony and Cleopatra, Op. 40
    Samuel Barber: “Do Not Utter A Word” from Vanessa
    Carlisle Floyd: “Ain’t it a Pretty Night” from Susannah
    Tania León: “Oh Yemanja” from Scourge of Hyacinths
    Missy Mazzoli: “Strange Dreams” from Proving Up
    Dan Shore: “I been tryin’ to get to Jackson for three days” from Freedom Ride
    Dan Shore: “So, Clayton, you think I ain’t got the guts?” from Freedom Ride
    William Grant Still: “In Ages Past” from A Bayou Legend
    William Grant Still: “Golden Days” from Costaso
    William Grant Still: “This Strange Awakening” from Mota

  • Bach
    St. Matthew’s Passion

    Barber
    Knoxville: Summer of 1915
    Andromache’s Farewell*
    Cleopatra - scenes & selections

    Bartók
    Bluebeard’s Castle

    Beethoven
    Ah, Perfido!*
    Egmont
    Mass in C*
    Missa Solenem*
    Symphony 9

    Berg
    Altenberg Lieder*
    Sieben Frühe Lieder*

    Berlioz
    Death of Cleopatra*
    Les nuits d’été*

    Brahms
    Ein Deutches Requiem

    Britten
    War Requiem*

    Bruckner
    Requiem*

    Chausson
    Poemes de l’amour et la mer

    DETT
    The Ordering of Moses**

    Dvořák
    Requiem*
    Stabat Mater*
    Te Deum*

    Gershwin
    Porgy and Bess Suite

    Geter
    Justice Symphony**

    Gounod
    Christmas Oratorio*

    Lokumbe
    Healing Tones
    The Jonah People**
    Trials, Tears, Transcendence: The Journey of Clara Luper**

    Mahler
    Das Lied Von Der Erde
    Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen*
    Rückert-Lieder*
    Symphony 2, 4 and 8* (Sop II)

    Mendelssohn
    Elijah*
    Lobegesang (Sop I)

    Moore
    Scenes from the Life of a Martyr**

    Mozart
    Concert arias
    Requiem*

    Ravel
    Chanson Madecasses
    Sheherazade*

    Rossini
    Stabat Mater*

    Saint-Säens
    Christmas Oratorio*

    Schoenberg
    Gurrelieder

    R. Strauss
    Orchestra songs
    Vier Letzte Lieder

    Szymanovsky
    Stabat Mater

    Tippett
    A Child of Our Time

    Vaughn-Williams
    Dona Nobis Pacem

    Verdi
    Requiem

    Wagner
    Wesendonck Lieder
    Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde

    Zemlinsky
    Lyric Symphony*

    *-denotes in preparation or studied
    **- denotes new work in 22-23 season

  • PROGRAM I - OF THEE I SING
    Clayton White: Over My Head
    Undine Smith Moore: Let The Wind Cry...How I Adore Thee
    I Want to Die While You Love Me
    Ricky Ian Gordon: My People
    Scott Gendel: Kids Who Die
    H. Leslie Adams: Prayer
    Jake Heggie: Eleanor Roosevelt: Marian Anderson’s Mink Coat
    From Iconic Legacies: First Ladies at The Smithsonian
    Adolphus Hailstork: Songs from Love and Justice
    (Text by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.)
    Decisions
    Love

    [Optional] Selection of Spirituals: To be announced from the stage

    PROGRAM II
    M. Ravel: Melodies hébraïques
    I. Kaddish
    F. Schubert: Die liebe hat gelogen
    Der tod und das Mädchen Gretchen am Spinnrade
    R. Strauss: Wir beide wollen springen
    Schlectes Wetter
    Wiegenlied
    Morgen
    Zuiegnung
    *****
    J. Turina: Poemes en Forma de Canciones, Op. 19
    I. Dedicatoria
    II. Nunca olvida
    III. Cantares
    IV. Los dos miedos
    V. Las locas por amor
    G. Gershwin: Summertime
    The Man I Love
    Duke Ellington: Sophisticated Lady
    Don’t Get Around Much Anymore
    arr. M. Bonds: Lord I Just Can’t Keep From Crying
    arr. Zenobia Powell Perry: De Angles Done Bowed Down
    arr. Jaqueline Hairston: Don’t Feel No Ways Tired

    PROGRAM III
    Ravel: Deux Mélodies Hébraïques
    I. Kaddish
    II. L’enigme éternelle
    Brahms: Von Ewiger Liebe
    Feldeinsamkeit
    Meine Liebe ist Grün
    Barber: Hermit Songs
    I. At Saint Patrick’s Purgatory
    II. Church Bell at Night
    III. St. Ita’s Vision
    IV. The Heavenly Banquet
    V. The Crucifixion
    VI. Sea-snatch
    VII. Promiscuity
    VIII. The Monk and His Cat
    IX. The Praises of God
    X. The Desire for Hermitage
    arr. M. Bonds: You Can Tell The World
    arr. D. Ragland: Rockin Jerusalem
    Bright Mansions
    arr. S.Okopeblo: Steal Away
    arr. H. Johnson: Witness

    PROGRAM III (2025-26) - DREAM VARIATIONS
    Undine Smith Moore: Dream Variation
    Gustav Mahler: Ich atmet’ einen linden Duft
    Alban Berg: Sommertage
    Michel LeGrand: The Summer Knows
    Hugo Wolf: Er ist's

    Hector Berlioz: Vilianelle
    George Gershwin: Love Walked In
    Richard Strauss: Lob des Liedens, Op. 15, No. 3
    Harold Arlen: Stormy Weather

    Josef Marx: Und gestern hat er mir Rosen gebracht
    Hugo Wolf: Bedeckt mich mit Blumen
    Reynaldo Hahn: L’Heure exquise
    Undine Smith Moore: Lyric for Truelove

    *****

    Johannes Brahms: Es träumte mir
    Graham Lyle (arr. Terry Britten): What's Love Got To Do With It?
    Franz Schubert: Die Liebe hat gelogen
    Francis Poulenc: Les Chemins de l'amour

    Traditional folk song: Cotton-Eyed Joe
    David Del Tredici: Acrostic Song Richard Wagner: Träume

    Programs must be approved by the Karen Slack. Repertoire subject to change.

 

Projects

Project Blog
Pacifica Quartet & Karen Slack | James Lee III: A Double Standard
Collaboration, String Quartet, Vocalist, New Work
Pacifica Quartet & Karen Slack | James Lee III: A Double Standard
Collaboration, String Quartet, Vocalist, New Work

The Pacifica Quartet and soprano Karen Slack are offering a new song cycle by James Lee III commissioned by Carnegie Hall, Chamber Music Detroit, and the Shriver Hall Concert Series. “A Double Standard” is based on the poem of the same name by the prolific Baltimore poet Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, who was a free black woman from Baltimore in the 19th century.

Read More →
Collaboration, String Quartet, Vocalist, New Work
Karen Slack | Of Thee I Sing!
Vocalists, Piano, Duo, Recital, New Work
Karen Slack | Of Thee I Sing!
Vocalists, Piano, Duo, Recital, New Work

Of Thee I Sing! Songs of Love and Justice is a critically acclaimed recital created by Karen Slack in the late Summer of 2020 during the height of the pandemic and just after the murder of George Floyd. The center of this moving program is the raw and powerful yet hopeful Langston Hughes poem, The Kids Who Die (1938), and a commissioned setting of that riveting text by American composer Scott Gendel.

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Vocalists, Piano, Duo, Recital, New Work
Karen Slack | Gladys Bentley Project
Vocalists, Orchestra, New Work
Karen Slack | Gladys Bentley Project
Vocalists, Orchestra, New Work

Karen is a skilled storyteller, a champion for new work, and a thoughtful producer, and she is developing a project to honor the life of the iconic Harlem Renaissance performer Gladys Bentley, putting Black Queer voices front and center while exploring themes of Black love, identity, and artistry through the lens of the Harlem Renaissance.

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Vocalists, Orchestra, New Work
Karen Slack | African Queens
Vocalists
Karen Slack | African Queens
Vocalists

This special commissioning project produced by and featuring soprano Karen Slack takes the form of a full evening vocal recital of art song on the theme of African Queens to celebrate the history and legacy of seven fierce African Queens who were revered as rulers and warriors, though not widely heralded in the West. 

Read More →
Vocalists

#KikiKonversations