Carla Rae Cook
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Carla Rae Cook is “one of the world’s great upcoming Wagnerians.” Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, Miss Cook began singing in youth choirs and studying piano at the age of five. She received her Bachelors of Music Education from the University of Utah, Masters of Music in Vocal Performance from Boston University, and postgraduate studies at the Manhattan School of Music. She received full scholarships to study at the Tanglewood Music Center, The Music Academy of the West, and Zurich Opera Studios.
Miss Cook won the Rotary International Young Artists Vocal Competition in Fresno, California, and the San Francisco Opera Auditions. She participated in the Merola Program and was awarded the second highest award, the Jean Connell Memorial Award, and a debut contract with San Francisco Opera in Die Walküre. She won two other prestigious competitions: the Metropolitan Opera National Auditions and the Munich International Vocal Competition. The Metropolitan Opera presented her in her Carnegie Hall debut with the National Orchestra of New York. She made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Girl of Mahagonny in Weill’s The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny.
Miss Cook began performing Wagnerian roles with the Metropolitan Opera. She sang Waltraute in Die Walküre while on tour. She began performing leading Wagnerian roles with the Seattle Opera. She created Venus in a new production of Tannhäuser, sung Waltraute, Flosshilde, and Siegrune in Seattle’s Ring Cycles. She made her European opera debut singing Venus in Tannhäuser with the Bremen Opera and created such a sensation that she was hailed to become “one of the world’s leading Wagnerians.”
Miss Cook has performed many times with the San Francisco Opera as Annina in Der Rosenkavalier, Larina in Eugene Onegin, Flora in La Traviata, Charlotte in La Grande Duchesse, Glasha in Katya Kabanova, Kunstgewerblerin in Lulu, Die Aufseherin in Elektra, and Rossweisse in Die Walküre. She has sung Judith in Bluebeard’s Castle with Kent Nagano conducting the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra. She has performed Waltraute and Zweite Norn in the Arizona Opera Ring Cycles. She sang Marcellina in Le Nozzi di Figaro with the Washington Opera and Die Aufseherin in Elektra with Baltimore Opera. Miss Cook has sung Kundry and worked with the Chicago Lyric Opera in their production of Parsifal, and Waltraute in Die Walküre with the Washington Opera. Recently, she sang seven performances of Azucena with Utah Festival Opera.
She has also appeared on PBS National Television and radio, performing Oenone in the world premiere of Phaedra with Opera San Jose, opera and concerts with the San Francisco Opera, and the Metropolitan Opera. She has been recorded worldwide singing opera, oratorio and song repertoire with major orchestras and conductors.