NAOMI BRIGELL

Naomi Brigell, mezzo-soprano, is quickly gaining recognition as an “expressive, athletic and strong-voiced” presence on the operatic stage who “lights up every scene she's in” (Naples Daily News). After a season of canceled performances due to COVID-19, Brigell is excited to be returning to the stage in 2021 to sing the leading role of Clara Schumann in an innovative digital production of Ghost Variations by Tony Manfredonia with Thompson Street Opera, followed by a return to Opera Saratoga, where she will sing the role of Pedrillo in Telemann's Don Quichotte auf der Hochzeit des Comacho and cover the Housekeeper in Man of La Mancha. Brigell’s exciting 2019/2020 season was scheduled to include her role debut as Olga in Eugene Onegin with Opera in the Heights and her second season with Opera Saratoga as a Festival Artist, both unfortunately canceled due to the pandemic. Earlier in the season, she made her debut with Chicago Opera Theater in the acclaimed world premiere of Freedom Ride by Dan Shore.

​

Brigell's 2018-19 season included her Chicago Fringe Opera company debut performing the role of Genevieve in Hindemith's The Long Christmas Dinner, a return to Des Moines Metro Opera to perform a tour of The Magic Flute and Little Red's Most Unusual Day for audiences of all ages throughout the state of Iowa, and a summer with Opera Saratoga as a Festival Artist, where she covered the role of Hänsel in Hänsel und Gretel and sang in a masterclass for renowned composer Ricky Ian Gordon.

 

In 2018, Brigell joined Opera Naples as a resident artist, performing the roles of Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro and Giannetta in L'elisir d'amore under the baton of Ramón Tebar. She then joined Des Moines Metro Opera as an Apprentice Artist, singing the role of Third Wood Sprite in the mainstage production of Rusalka. Other recent operatic roles include Dritte Dame in Die Zauberflöte with Opera in the Heights, Sesto in La clemenza di Tito with Chicago Summer Opera, and Zulma in L'Italiana in Algeri with Operativo Houston, with whom she also covered the role of Isabella. Equally at home on the concert stage, Brigell has appeared as an oratorio soloist with Palm Beach Symphony, Emerson Unitarian Universalist Church, Houston Lutheran Chorale, and Boston University Concert Choir. 

 

In 2017, Brigell was awarded the Kristin Lewis Foundation Vocal Scholarship Competition’s grand prize: a short residency in Vienna to study with coaches and stage directors at the Wiener Staatsoper. In 2018, she was first runner-up in the Madame Rose Competition at Mobile Opera. During her formal academic studies, Naomi was awarded titled scholarships, including the Winifred and Maurice Hirsch Memorial Scholarship at the University of Houston and the prestigious Ellalou Dimmock Vocal Honors Award at Boston University.

Naomi Brigell is currently based in Chicago. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Boston University and a Master of Music degree from University of Houston, both summa cum laude.