Pamela Dillard
Mezzo-soprano
New England Third Place Winner 1992

Pamela Dillard caught the international attention of critics for her stunning portrayal of the title role in Opera Theatre of St. Louis' 1995 production of La Belle Hélène. The American Record Guide wrote that "Pamela Dillard's coyly egotistical Hélène and her agile richly colored singing provided the other stellar performance of the summer," while the Wall Street Journal noted that Ms. Dillard "Had just th right mix of sparkle, imperiousness and licentiousness for Helen."

In recent seasons Ms. Dillard performed Siebel in Faust with Opera/Columbus; Rosette in Manon with San Francisco Opera; the title role of Carmen with the Pacific Symphony Orchestra and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra; and Maddalena in Rigoletto with Opera Carolina.

.Pamela Dillard's recent orchestral engagements have included Alexander Nevsky with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra; Beethoven's Choral Fantasy with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Seiji Ozawa at Carnegie Hall; soloist in Mahler's Symphony No. 2 with the Marin Symphony, Colorado Symphony, and Lawrence Symphony Orchestras; Das Lied von der Erde with the Kansas City Camerata; and concerts with the Boston Pops as part of a centenary tribute to Marian Anderson.

In 1995 the San Francisco Opera Center presented Pamela Dillard on its Schwabacher Debut Recital series. With the San Francisco Opera she has sung Mercades in Carmen, a Dryad in Rusalka, and Victore in the world premier of Conrad Susa's The Dangerous Liaisons. Her roles with Boston Lyric Opera have included Ursula in Béatrice et Bénédict and Irina in Lost in the Stars. She has also sung Suzuki in Madama Butterfly with Opera Theatre of St. Louis; Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus with Western Opera Theatre; and Tituba in The Crucible with Tulsa Opera.

Ms. Dillard can be heard on "Watch and Pray," a CD of spitituals and art songs by African-American women composers released by Koch International Classics, and on the soundtrack to Steven Spielberg's movie Armistad.

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