West Bay Opera
Shawn Marie Williams
Mezzo-soprano Shawn Marie Williams was last seen with West Bay Opera as
Rosina in The Barber of Seville; previously she appeared as the
Mistress of Novices in Suor Angelica and performed an emergency
vocal cover of Zita in Gianni Schicchi, which she sang from the pit!
She has sung a variety of roles throughout the Bay Area, including Frugola in
Puccini's Il Tabarro, Berta, Dido, and Arminda in Mozart's
La Finta Giardiniera. Most recently Shawn was seen as Orsini in
Pocket Opera's Lucrezia Borgia and Federica in Berkeley Opera's
Luisa Miller. She has performed with the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra,
singing the role of El Trujaman in their concert version of De Falla's
El Retablo de Maese Pedro under the baton of Kent Nagano. Last
summer Shawn created the role of Madame Defarge in A Time for Courage,
a new musical based on A Tale of Two Cities. Upcoming engagements
include Cherubino for Livermore Valley Opera, Suzuki for San Francisco
Opera Guild's Madama Butterfly, and Carmen for San Francisco Lyric
Opera. A great enthusiast of character roles, Shawn loves being a mezzo,
thus allowing her to fully exploit her multi-personality disorder.
In addition to her operatic endeavors, Ms. Williams is an avid
devotée of the recital and the art of the song.
12 Sep 1998
