Team member Natalie Mann gears up for new odyssey

One of the great joys in running the List is getting to crow about our members’ triumphs, and Natalie Mann has done us proud, with new management and a schedule filling up quickly.

A Chicago native, Natalie came to Southern California in 2008 to join the chorus at San Diego Opera, and has found a home here, while still traveling for appearances across the country, has become a recognizable local voice on various operatic stages, most memorable as the female leads in Macbeth (Lady Macbeth) and The Merry Widow (Hanna) for Independent Opera Company, and Donna Anna in Pacific Opera Project‘s Don Giovanni (right, with Jon Lee Keenan). A veteran concert soloist and recitalist, she appeared recently as soprano soloist in Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with the La Jolla Symphony and Chorus, and was the Audience Favorite at the Center Stage Opera‘s David W. Scott Memorial Competition last year.

Natalie’s travels and ongoing relationships with active composers also make it easier for us to hear her whenever we wish, as her Carnegie Hall debut in 2011 led to the release of Experience, a CD from Albany Records created with pianist and performance partner Jeffrey Panko, and containing the world premiere recordings of song cycles by Lori Laitman and Richard Pearson Thomas.  The American Record Guide said of the release, “A superb exponent of contemporary American songs, soprano Natalie Mann has a voice that is simultaneously strong and tender, passionate and subtle.”

With a love of writing and a passion for supporting her colleagues and the arts in general, Natalie has also served generously as our Review Coordinator, blog contributor and an active member of the Lauri’s List Team for the last couple of years, only recently stepping down from her team role to shift proper focus to her burgeoning career.

Coming up this year are the title role in Puccini’s Suor Angelica at Riverside Lyric Opera, where she was recently named a Resident Artist; her debut in our own unSUNg series; a return appearance with the South Shore Orchestra; and recitals in the Midwest with Panko, just to start.

Natalie lives in Moreno Valley with her husband, Paul, and teaches at Moreno Valley College.  She’ll continue to travel quite a bit, but we look forward to catching up with her when she’s in town, and while Coril Prochnow will again be taking over the List’s review program, we hope Natalie will still pop up on the blog from time to time.

Brava, Natalie!

Natalie’s website

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