Biography

Praised for her “lovely mezzo voice” (Berkshire Fine Arts) and “dramatically incisive” stage presence (Parterre Box), American-Canadian Ilanna Starr is currently an artist-in-residence with l’Atelier lyrique at l’Opéra de Montréal. She began her 2023/24 season with a “stand out” performance (l’Opéra) as Nerone in L’incoronazione di Poppea with l’Atelier lyrique and l’Orchestre de l’Agora under Nicolas Ellis. This season she also takes the stage as Mercédès in Carmen with l’Orchestre symphonique de Trois-Rivières, Cherubino (cover) in l’Opéra de Montréal’s Le nozze di Figaro, and her upcoming main stage debut with l’Opéra de Montréal as Flora Bervoix in La traviata.

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Previous operatic role highlights include Hänsel (Hänsel und Gretel), Dorabella (Così fan tutte), Tisbe (La Cenerentola), La Messagiera (L’Orfeo), Melissa (La liberazione di Ruggiero), and Amastre (Serse). Ilanna has also amassed experience interpreting characters in newer operatic works covering the role of the Captain in the Chicago premiere of David T. Little’s Dog Days as well as Brittomara in the Midwest premiere of Jake Heggie’s If I Were You. Most recently she originated the role of Venus in the world premiere of Dean Burry’s Il giudizio di Pigmalione.

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In concert, Ilanna has sung the mezzo solo in John Corigliano’s Fern Hill in addition to being a featured street player soloist in Bernstein’s MASS. Collaborating frequently with Northwestern’s Contemporary Music Ensemble, conducted by Alan Pierson of Alarm Will Sound, she was the solo vocalist in Andrew Hamilton’s 20-minute work, music for people who like art, as well as a soloist in Marcos Balter’s meltDown Upshot at Chicago’s 2021 EarTaxi Festival.

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short bio

Praised for her “lovely mezzo voice” (Berkshire Fine Arts) and “dramatically incisive” stage presence (Parterre Box), Canadian-American Ilanna Starr joins the Atelier lyrique de l’Opéra de Montréal in the 2023-24 season. Role highlights include Hänsel (Hänsel und Gretel) with Opera McGill, Nerone (L’incoronazione di Poppea) with the Halifax Summer Opera Festival, Dorabella (Così fan tutte) with Quisisana, and Melissa (La liberazione di Ruggiero) with dell’Arte Opera Ensemble in New York City. Ilanna has received training at SongFest, Chautauqua Institute, and was recently recognized with an Encouragement Award at the 2022 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition. In 2023, she was named a Wirth Vocal Prize finalist in addition to being a laureate with the Jeunes Ambassadeurs Lyriques of the Théâtre Lyrichorégra. Interested in exploring diverse human experiences through art music, Starr has curated and performed collaborative recitals centered around voices of women, domestic violence, and the resilience of Jewish culture during the Holocaust and throughout the 20th century. She holds degrees from Vanderbilt University, Northwestern University, and McGill University.