Clara Rottsolk

Soprano Soloist

“Resplendent” (San Diego Story) soprano Clara Rottsolk has been lauded by The New York Times for her “clear, appealing voice and expressive conviction” and by The Philadelphia Inquirer for the “opulent tone [with which] every phrase has such a communicative emotional presence.”

A brilliant and accomplished concert artist, her solo appearances have taken her across the United States, the Middle East, Japan, and South America with orchestras including American Bach Soloists, Santa Fe Pro Musica, Pacific MusicWorks, the American Classical Orchestra,  St. Thomas Church 5th Avenue, Richmond Symphony, Bach Collegium San Diego, Virginia Symphony, New Mexico Philharmonic, Pacific Symphony, Atlanta Baroque Orchestra, Trinity Wall Street, Seattle Baroque Orchestra, Spoleto Festival USA, and the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park, under the direction of conductors including Stephen Stubbs, David Danzmayr, Nicholas McGegan, Grete Pedersen, Andrew Megill, Paul Goodwin, Jeffrey Thomas, Reuben Vanlenzuela, Dinis Sousa, Joshua Rifkin, Bruno Weil, David Effron, John Sinclair, Benjamin Rous, Chia-Hsuan Lin, and Timothy Nelson.

Dedicated to chamber music and recital with “sophisticated mastery of the nuances of the libretto: with perfect diction and expressive delivery” (Cleveland Classical), she has performed with Les Délices, ARTEK, TENET Vocal Artists, Les Canards Chantants, Folger Consort, Piffaro—The Renaissance Wind Band, Byron Schenkman & Friends, Colorado Bach Ensemble, and has appeared as featured soloist at the Carmel Bach Festival, Berkeley Early Music Festival, Festival Montréal Baroque, Spoleto Festival USA, Indianapolis Early Music Festival, Philadelphia Bach Festival, Whidbey Island Music Festival, Boston Early Music Festival Fringe, and the Festival de Música Barroca de Barichara (Colombia). On myriad other concert series across the country in collaboration with pianists Sylvia Berry and Byron Schenkman, organist Peter Richard Conte, and guitarist-lutenist Daniel Swenberg, Ms. Rottsolk has given recitals of song from the 17th to 21st centuries in venues including the Goethe-Institut Boston, Town Hall Seattle, Carmel Bach Festival, St. Mark’s Church Philadelphia, Longwood Gardens, Wanamaker Macy’s, and Swarthmore College.

Also a dynamic performer of opera, Ms. Rottsolk is noted for her portrayals of Euridice in Gluck’s Orphée et Eurydice and in Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld, Pamina in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, Galatea in Handel’s Acis and Galatea, Dido in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, Ilia in Mozart’s Idomeneo, and Micaëla in Bizet’s Carmen with companies including Opera Grand Rapids, Spoleto Festival USA, Carmel Bach Festival, Western Plains Opera, and Brandywine Baroque.

Her solo recordings are Myths and Allegories, French Baroque cantatas with Les Délices, Nicholas White’s Songs of Innocence and The Raven for MSR Classics, Monteverdi’s Complete Book 7 Madrigals with ARTEK,  and “supple and stylish… and unflaggingly attractive” (Gramophone Magazine) Scarlatti Cantatas with Tempesta di Mare on the Chandos-Chaconne label.  Due out soon are recordings of new art songs by Rachel Matthews.

A native of Seattle, Ms. Rottsolk earned her music degrees at Rice University and Westminster Choir College, and was awarded for musical excellence by the Metropolitan Opera National Council (Northwest Region).  Currently she is based in Philadelphia and teaches voice at Swarthmore, Haverford and Bryn Mawr Colleges.

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