Kishna Davis, soprano
Kishna Davis, soprano, is widely acclaimed throughout the United States and Europe for her performances in opera, with orchestras and as a solo concert artist.
Her operatic roles include her signature role of Bess in Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess (New York City Opera, John de Main, conductor; Opera Company of Philadelphia, Indianapolis Opera, Virginia Opera, San Francisco National Symphony, Cleveland, Berlin, Rome, Praque Czech Republic Symphonies), Serena in Porgy and Bess with Santa Fe, Sister Rose in Dead Man Walking (Baltimore Opera), Nedda in Leoncavallo’s I Pagliacci (Opera Memphis), the title role in Puccini’s Tosca (Metro Lyric Opera of New Jersey), Norina in Donizetti’s Don Pasquale (Indianapolis Opera), Musetta in Puccini’s La bohème (Metro Lyric Opera, Connecticut Grand Opera), the title role in Verdi’s Aida (Metro Lyric Opera), Medoro in Handel’s Orlando, the title role of Aida in Puccini's Suor Angelica (Juilliard Opera), and concert scenes from Verdi’s La forza del destino and Dvorák’s Rusalka, (the latter three at the Altenburg Opera Festival in Germany).
She was a member in the Merola Opera Program at the San Francisco Opera where she sang the role of the Countess in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro, subsequently appearing in the same role at Western Opera Theatre. As a fellow at the Aspen Music Festival, Ms. Davis sang the title role in Carlyle Floyd’s Susannah, conducted by James Conlon, and also appeared there as Musetta. She performed Diedre Murray’s jazz opera, The Running Man, in Lenox, Massachusetts.
She has frequently performed excerpts from Porgy and Bess with orchestras in the United States, including at Wolftrap with the National Symphony Orchestra, the Baltimore Symphony under Yuri Termirkanov, Cleveland Orchstra conducted by Leonard Slatkin, National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Bobby McFerrin, and the Oregon, Pacific, Phoenix, San Francisco, and Alabama symphonies.
She has also performed songs from Porgy and Bess abroad, including Martinique, on tour with the Morgan State University choir in Prague, with the Chicago Sinfonietta during the ensemble’s European tour, and recently in Rome and Siena under Yuri Termirkanov.
She was also the feature soprano soloist with the Berlin Philharmonic. Other performances with orchestras have included the debut of Nkeiru Okoye's Songs of Harriet Tubman with the West Piedmont Symphony in North Carolina and a 2009 performance of the piece with the Hopkins Symphony Orchestra, concert performances of arias from Kurt Weill’s opera Street Scene (Phoenix Symphony), André Previn’s song cycle Honey and Rue (Annapolis Symphony), the soprano solo in Leslie Dunner’s Songs of a Motherless Child with the Philadelphia Orchestra, as well as with the Dallas, Baltimore, and Annapolis symphonies, and Barber's Knoxville Summer of 1915 with the Grand Rapids Symphony.
Other concert appearances have included the soprano solos in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Missa Solemnis, Duke Ellington’s Sacred Music (Cleveland Jazz Fest), various arias from oratorios by Handel (Marin Alsop conducting the Colorado Symphony), Maria’s songs from West Side Story (Spokane Symphony), and appearances with the Evansville Philharmonic and the Sunshine Pops Orchestra in southwest Florida, as well as Holiday concerts with the Baltimore and Virginia Symphonies. Ms. Davis also returned for the second year as soprano soloist for the New Year’s Eve Gala, at the Kennedy Center with the National Symphony Orchestra.
Ms. Davis, a winner of the Baltimore Opera Competition, is a graduate of The Juilliard Opera Center, where she received her master’s degree in music. In addition, she holds degrees from The Juilliard School and Morgan State University.
Links
Visit Ms. Davis' WebsiteDownload a PDF file of Ms. Davis' bio here.
Photos
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