Stephanie Blythe

Stephanie Blythe is a Mezzo-Soprano opera singer. She graduated from Monticello High School in 1987 [ [http://www.monticelloschools.net/Alumni/alumni.htm Monticello High School Alumni, accessed November 27, 2006] ] and the Crane School of Music at the State University of New York at Potsdam in 1992. She was the recipient of the prestigious Richard Tucker Award in 1999. SUNY Potsdam awarded her the degree of Doctor of Music "honoris causa" in 2006.

In 1996, Blythe's career was transformed, standing in for Marilyn Horne at the Met as Mistress Quickly in "Falstaff." Her breakthrough performance came three years later when she sang Cornelia in Handel's Giulio Cesare. [ [http://www.monticelloschools.net/Alumni/Features/Stephanie%20Blythe.htm Stephanie Blythe, Class of 1987, Appears at the Metropolitan Opera] ]

Ms. Blythe is a large woman with what has been referred to as a Junoesque bearing. Her ample build allows her voice to fill any size theater and she has developed into one of the most consistently excellent mezzo sopranos in the world.

Blythe starred in the world premiere of the opera The Sailor Boy and the Falcon, performed by the Crane School of Music Opera Ensemble in November of 2006. The opera was written by two SUNY Potsdam professors (music by Paul Siskind and libretto by Alan Steinberg) and was performed at the Crane School's Sara M. Snell Theater. The opera is based on The Sailor-Boy's Tale by Isak Dinesen.

In the 2007/08 season at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, Ms. Blythe has sung supporting roles in both "Un Ballo in Maschera" and "Die Walkure." In each, she has stolen the show with ovations exceeding those given to the singers of the lead roles.

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