New Amsterdam Opera

Sarah Heltzel is being noticed for her “potent star performances” coupled with a “rich, powerhouse voice.” For recent performances in Houston, the Chronicle raved “Heltzel sets the stage ablaze with her vocal and dramatic pyrotechnics,” while the New York Times noted of her role in The Saint of Bleecker Street, “Sarah Heltzel, vocally striking and visually appealing, walked away with the second act as Desideria.”

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Ms. Heltzel made her debut with Seattle Opera while still a Young Artist, as Siegrune in their acclaimed Ring cycle. She reprised the role twice, adding covers of Flosshilde in Das Rheingold,and Waltraute, Zweite Norn and Flosshilde in Götterdämmerung. A recipient of grants from The Wagner Society of New York, she has also sung Fricka in Minnesota Concert Opera’s Mini-Ring.

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A compelling actress with a true Zwischenfach voice, in recent seasons Ms. Heltzel has been noticed in roles from Suzuki in Madama Butterfly (Indianapolis, Amarillo, Syracuse, Nevada, Opera on the James) to Der Komponist in Ariadne auf Naxos (Winter Opera St Louis), and from Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana (String Orchestra of Brooklyn) to Desirée in A Little Night Music(Syracuse Opera). Other recent roles include Jo in Little Women for Opera on the James, Romeo in I Capuleti e i Montecchi for Opera in the Heights, Flora in La Traviata for Seattle Opera, Musetta in La Bohème for Opera on the James, Lola in Cavalleria Rusticana for Amarillo Opera, the Ugly Duchess in Chin’s Alice In Wonderland for New York City Opera, Azucena in Il Trovatore with Opera in the Heights, Carmen for Tacoma Opera and Skagit Opera,  Desideria in The Saint Of Bleecker Street and the Marquise de Merteuil in The Dangerous Liaisons for New York’s Dicapo Opera Theatre, Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus with Mississippi Opera, Dryade in Ariadne Auf Naxos with Toledo Opera, Cherubino in Le Nozze Di Figaro for Chautauqua Opera, and covering Dalila in Saint-Saëns’ Samson Et Dalila for Washington Concert Opera. A lover and proponent of new music, Ms. Heltzel has created roles in multiple new one-act operas for American Lyric Theater in New York.

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Concert performances include Verdi’s Requiem with Symphony Syracuse, Back Bay Chorale and at Carnegie Hall, Handel’s Messiah and Janacek's Glagolitic Mass with Seattle Symphony, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Boston Philharmonic and Minot Symphony Orchestra, Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder with the Gordon College Symphony, and Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde with the Boston Chamber Music Society, as well as numerous recitals with collaborator Miloš Repický, including for the Wagner and Mahler Societies of New York.

As a member of the Seattle Opera Young Artist Program, she appeared as Cherubino in Mozart’s Le Nozze Di Figaro, Miss Jessel in Britten’s Turn Of The Screw and Despina in Cosi Fan Tutte. She has been a grant recipient and prizewinner from The Wagner Society of New York, The Liederkranz Foundation, The Gerda Lissner Foundation, the Career Bridges Competition, and the Palm Beach Opera Vocal Competition.

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This season Ms. Heltzel joins The Phoenicia Festival of the Voice as Charlotte in A Little Night Music, Wichita Grand Opera as the Principessa d’Eboli in Don Carlo, and a return to Verdi’s Requiem for Wichita Symphony.