Christine Lyons
SOPRANO
"Norma was Maria Callas' favorite showcase for her legendary voice. Renata Scotto once called the role of Norma 'the Everest of opera.' Well, Soprano Christine Lyons climbs that peak with banners flying. She's a true virtuosa, dazzling us with her mastery of all those Bel Canto coloratura fireworks- all the runs, trills and staccato arpeggios and cadenzas that decorate the long, free-ranging melody lines."
Broadway World
BIO
Christine Lyons (she/her) is a critically acclaimed soprano who has been hailed a “true virtuosa” by Broadway World, exclaimed a “revelation” by Gay City News, and praised for her “potent soprano” by Opera Magazine. In the 2021-22 season, Lyons sings The Governess in Britten's The Turn of the Screw with IlluminArts Miami, Nella in Gianni Schicci with OnSite Opera, and the title role in Handel's Agrippina with Florida Grand Opera. In concert, she joins Lyric Fest for "My Letter to the World," a recital of Emily Dickinson art song.
Lyons most recently starred as the title role in Bellini’s Norma at Winter Opera St. Louis, the title role in Bellini’s La Straniera at Jazz at Lincoln Center, Leonora in Verdi's Il Trovatore at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C., and the title role Puccini’s Madama Butterfly with Baltimore Concert Opera.
Her debut as Norma garnered the Outstanding Achievement in Opera award nomination from the 2020 St. Louis Theater Circle, and her artistry has been celebrated in such publications as Opera News, The New York Times, Opera Magazine (London), Musical America Worldwide, Operawire, The Atlanta Journal Constitution, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and New York Classical Review.
In 2021, Lyons curated a live-streamed recital of art song titled The Art of Perseverance inclusive of Black, queer and female artists for the Gelman Concert Series with River City Opera, opened The Shed in New York with Kelsey Lu’s opera This is a Test, and joined Teatro Nuovo for a digital presentations of Bel Canto in 30 Minutes and The Complete Recordings of Giuseppe Verdi.
Throughout the pandemic, Lyons has remained engaged in advocacy, giving several Artist Talks on operatic preparation, career development, and equity in opera, as well as serving as an adjudicator for the 2021 Miss America New York Scholarship Competition.
