Melanie Helton, soprano

Melanie Helton is associate professor of voice (soprano) and director of opera theatre at the Michigan State University College of Music.  She is one of the most versatile sopranos in the United States today, hailed by The New York Times for her “dark soprano that warms the ear.”

She made her international debut to unanimous praise (“triumphant”) as Marietta/Marie in Korngold’s Die Tote Stadt at the Brisbane (Australia) Biennial.  Her successes include the title role of Lucrezia Borgia at the Caramoor International Music Festival, Aida with Opera Carolina, as well as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni with Caramoor, Opera Carolina, and Lake George Opera Festival.  Other engagements have included Alice Ford opposite the Falstaff of Sherrill Milnes at the New York City Opera, Maddalena in Andréa Chénier, Elsa in Lohengrin, Foreign Princess in Rusalka, Leonora in Il Trovatore for Seattle Opera, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni for New York City Opera, and the title role in Norma for Teatro de Colon, Bogota and Mobile Opera.

In addition, she has appeared in leading roles with the San Francisco Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Dallas Opera, Glimmerglass Opera and Washington Opera.  A favorite of American opera composers, she has originated roles in Leonard Bernstein’s A Quiet Place and Hugo Weisgall’s The Gardens of Adonis.  Helton appeared to rave reviews (“in superb voice”) as the Fairy Godmother in Pauline Viardot’s Cendrillon with the Caramoor Festival.   In Fall 2005, Helton sang the world premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon’s song cycle and flowers pick themselves (commissioned for her by the MSU Sesquicentennial Foundation) with the MSU Symphony Orchestra.  April 2007 brought her first appearance in the title role of Turandot, also with the MSU Symphony Orchestra.  

She has appeared as a soloist with such orchestras as the American Symphony Orchestra, Columbus Symphony, Rhode Island Philharmonic, Bowdoin Summer Music Festival, Colorado Symphony and the Omaha Symphony.  She was recently heard with the Lansing Symphony in excerpts from Idomeneo and Mozart’s C minor Mass, and with the Ann Arbor Symphony in Verdi’s Requiem and excerpts from La Traviata.   Ms. Helton debuted with the Ashland Symphony for Verdi’s Requiem in 2009.

Ms. Helton earned a Bachelor of Music degree with honors from Indiana University and a Masters in Music with honors from the University of Houston.  This will be Ms. Helton's second appearance with the Ashland Symphony Orchestra.