The American soprano and actress, Sarah Chalfy, obtained her Bachelor of Music degree in Voice & Opera from the Peabody Conservatory of The Johns Hopkins University (1996-2000); and her Master of Music degree in Voice from the Manhattan School of Music (2002-2004). She was a fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center, the Universität Mozarteum Sommerakademie, and the Académie internationale d’été de Nice. She studied acting/Meisner technique at the T. Schreiber Studio, and musical theater with Paul Gemignani and Carolyn Marlow. She is recipient of numerous awards, including top prizes in the Lotte Lenya, Rosa Ponselle, Canticum Dominum, and Bach Society of Baltimore competitions, and study grants to the Universität Mozarteum Salzburg and the Académie internationale d’été de Nice.
Sarah Chalfy's work as a singer and actress encompasses many disciplines, styles, languages and traditions. She is an avid recitalist, cabaret performer, and collaborator with living artists in developing new works. Notable recent premieres include: Artemisia: Light and Shadow, a new theatre piece on the life of Artemisia Gentileschi, with arias by Strozzi and Cavalli; Bruce Odland and Sam Auinger’s Requiem for Fossil Fuels in a rare live performance at the Galerius Rotunda in Thessaloniki, Greece; The title role in ADA, Kim D. Sherman’s opera about Ada Lovelace Byron; Nellie Bly in David Friedman/Peter Kellogg’s new musical Stunt Girl; Madeleine X in the LA world premiere of Michael Gordon’s opera What to Wear, conceived, designed, and directed by avant-garde theatre legend Richard Foreman. She has collaborated with some of NYC’s foremost new music ensembles, including Alarm Will Sound, Newspeak, and NOW, premiering works of composers such as Michael Gordon, David T. Little, Missy Mazzoli, Judd Greenstein, John Halle, Joel Derfner and Kim D. Sherman. On the pre-Baroque front, she is a frequent soloist with ARTEK Early Music Ensemble (Director: Gwendolyn Toth; New York) since 2010. She has also been a soprano in the Church of the Ascension in New York City since 2014. She has recorded on the Canteloupe, New Amsterdam, and Innova labels. Opera and musical theater credits include Helena in Benjamin Britten's A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Gretel in Engelbert Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel, Adele in Die Fledermaus, Anne Sexton in Transformations, Vixen in The Cunning Little Vixen, Yum Yum in The Mikado, Guenevere in Camelot, Marian in The Music Man, Carrie in Carousel, and Hodel in Fiddler on the Roof. As an actress, she has done numerous independent films and appeared on TV in TNT’s Leverage.
Recent projects include the ongoing tour of Artemisia: Light and Shadow, solo cabaret shows across the Eastern seaboard, and the release of her solo album, "Love.Sex.Death: A Cabaret" (2019). She currently lives in New York City. |