Soprano Alison Bates, a native of Columbus, Indiana, recently completed her third year in the Minnesota Opera’s Resident Artist Program. After joining the program in the fall of 2005, she appeared as Zerlina in Don Giovanni and Mary in the U.S. Premiere of Laurent Petitgirard’s Joseph Merrick the Elephant Man.  Ms. Bates returned to the Resident Artist Program in the 2006-2007 season, where she sang Albina in La donna del Lago, Giulietta in Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Ellen in Lakmé, and covered the Countess in Le nozze di Figaro.  During the 2007-2008 season, she covered Elmira in Croesus and enjoyed role debuts as Elvira in L’italiana in Algeri, Juliette in Roméo et Juliette, and the Foreign Princess in Rusalka.

Ms. Bates graduated summa cum laude from DePauw University in 2001 with majors in vocal music performance and biology.  She earned her Master of Music degree in 2004 at the Indiana University School of Music, where she studied with renowned soprano Costanza Cuccaro.  While a student at IU, Ms. Bates appeared with the Indiana University Opera Theater as Catherine in the collegiate premiere of A View from the Bridge, Konstanze in Abduction from the Seraglio, Cleopatra in Giulio Cesare, and Amy in the collegiate premiere of Little Women. 

Also active in oratorio work, Ms. Bates has sung the soprano solos in Schubert’s Mass in G, Beethoven’s Mass in C, Rutter’s Requiem, Poulenc’s Gloria, Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem, and Handel’s Messiah.  She has also performed the soprano solos in Mahler’s Symphony #2, Handel’s Israel in Egypt, and Beethoven’s Symphony #9, all with the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic. 

In 2006, Ms. Bates was chosen as 1 of 26 National Semi-finalists in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.  In 2002 and 2004, she was a member of the Chautauqua Opera Studio Artist Program, where she sang the role of the Shepherd in Tosca and covered the role of Amy in Little Women. In the summer of 2006, she was selected for the Chautauqua Opera Apprentice Program, where she sang Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi, Gianetta in The Gondoliers, and covered Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro. 

In the summer of 2009, Ms. Bates will be making her debut with Glimmerglass Opera, performing in their recital series and covering the roles of Anna Gomez in The Consul and Violetta in La Traviata. 

As a 1997 Columbus North High School alumna, local audiences may remember her appearances in CNHS musicals and at other Columbus venues.  She was seen at CNHS as Laurey in Oklahoma (1995), Dolly in Hello Dolly (1996), and Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes (1997).  She studied with Columbus’ Camilla Gehring and was a first place winner of the Brown Vocal Scholarship Competition and the Schmidt Youth Voice Awards in 1997.