Mezzo’soprano Kirsten Lear has led an active performing career singing in opera, musical theater, recitals, and with symphony orchestras. She was raised in Amalia, NM and currently resides in Santa Fe. Lear has been a frequently featured soloist with the Santa Fe Symphony and Santa Fe Pro Musica. In addition, last season she appeared as Elsa in Theatreworks’ The Sound of Music at the Lensic, as a soloist in Santa Fe New Music’s John Cage Evening, in Berio’s Folksongs with the contemporary ensemble Chatter, and with her husband Robert Tweten in a voice recital on the St. John’s College Recital Series. Lear was an apprentice artist with the Santa Fe Opera for two seasons and recently sang with the company as Jenny in The Beggar’s Opera and Cousin Hebe in H.M.S. Pinafore. Lear’s other operatic roles have included: Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia with Shreveport Opera, Suzuki in Madama Butterfly with Pacific Opera Victoria, Flora in La Traviata with the Vancouver Opera, Prince Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus with Des Moines Metro Opera, Hansel in Hansel and Gretel with Theatreworks, and Costanza in L’Isola disabitata with the Canadian Opera Company. At the Banff Center of Fine Arts, Lear appeared as Polly in Weill’s Threepenny Opera as well as creating five new roles with their Music Theater Studio Ensemble, one of which was filmed by Rhombus Media and broadcast on PBS. With the Houston Grand Opera, Lear performed in Dialogues des Carmelites and Showboat which toured to the Cairo Opera House in Egypt. Other musical theater roles include Madame Giry in the Toronto Broadway production of Phantom of the Opera.