The American soprano, Carrie Beth Quarquesso, has held a passion for opera since she was 8, when she first heard the Queen’s aria from W.A. Mozart's Die Zauberflöte. Her innate ability to perform difficult coloratura at a young age inspired her to experiment with her range and flexibility, and she began private lessons at the age of 11. She studied Vocal Performance at the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore, Maryland (Class of 2015). She is the recipient of the Azalia H. Thomas prize in voice for music theory, as well as the Charles M. Eaton prize in vocal performance. She has also received the highest ratings at the South Florida Thespians Competition, as well as two Critic’s Choice awards at both the district and state level.
Carrie Quarquesso has performed a wide variety of works in the operatic field, and gained extensive experience with musical theater repertoire. Praised for her “mellifluous, limpid voice”, she is as equally skilled in oratorio repertoire as with standard operatic works, and regularly performs the music of J.S. Bach, George Frideric Handel, W.A. Mozart and Felix Mendelssohn across the East coast. In the year of Gian Carlo Menotti’s death, she presented Menotti’s comic masterpiece, The Telephone, dedicated in homage to its creator. Her portrayal of the whimsical “Lucy” delightfully showcases her “beautiful vocal quality, and artistic delivery.”
In the Spring of 2015, she performed the role of Blonde in W.A. Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail, with the Peabody Opera, in Baltimore, Maryland. In the Summer of 2017 she will be a soloist in J.S. Bach's St. Matthew Passion (BWV 244) with the Concert Artists of Baltimore, at the Basilica of the Assumption.
Carrie Quarquesso has worked as Student Worker at Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University (September 2011-May 2015); Staff member at Evergreen Museum & Library Private Events in Baltimore (2013-2016); Staff member at George Peabody Library Private Events (2014-2016); Chorister Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Baltimore (2014-2016); Assistant at Scene 217 in Baltimore (October 2015-December 2016); Administrative Coordinator at The Center at West Park in New York City. She married Ari Isaac Messenger on July 30, 2016, and currently lives in New York City. |