Biography

The 2017/2018 season saw many role and company debuts for mezzo soprano Emily Hughes. After receiving the Jeiven Emerging Artist Award for her performances with dell'Arte Opera Ensemble in 2016, she returned there in 2017 to perform the title role of Cavalli's La Calisto. She also sang her first Cherubino in Panopera's production of Le nozze di Figaro and Second Lady in The Magic Flute at the Nahant Music Festival, where she was an apprentice artist. Additionally, she was an apprentice artist at Teatro Nuovo for Will Crutchfield's esteemed bel canto program (formerly at Caramoor), where she studied and performed excerpts of the role of Annio from La Clemenza di Tito and was selected to perform in a masterclass with Jennifer Larmore.

Emily began the 2018/2019 season with two company debuts, playing Lola in Cavalleria rusticana with Taconic Opera and the Shepherdess in John Blow's Venus and Adonis with New Camerata Opera. In the spring, she will sing the title role in Handel’s Teseo with Cantanti Project. Some favorite past roles include Zerlina in Don Giovanni with Connecticut Lyric Opera, Elsa in The Grand Duke (Gilbert and Sullivan) with Utopia Opera, and Messaggera in Monteverdi's L'Orfeo with DePaul Opera Theatre.

A versatile singer, Emily also enjoys performing musical theatre. She sang Little Red Riding Hood in a concert performance of Into the Woods with The Modern Opera Company and played Summer in the first staged reading of Super! A Musical Parody at N.E.W. Musicals in Manhattan. In concert, she has been a soloist for the Messiah, Carmina Burana, and Vivaldi's Gloria. She has also premiered concert works by Ellen Mandel, Parker Gaims, Peter Kramer, and Nicolas Namoradze. In addition to her experience working on new compositions, Emily has a great interest in performing early music. She sings with the New York Continuo Collective and has performed with the Baroque Academy at Amherst Early Music Festival and Haymarket Opera Company. This spring, she will make her debut with Artek in a concert of Luzzaschi duets and trios. Emily received her Bachelors of Music from DePaul University in Chicago and holds a Masters of Music from the Conservatory of Music of Brooklyn College. She is based in NYC, where she studies with Mark Schnaible. 

Recent Performances

February 2019

December 2018