Skip to main contentIn what's either a classical orgy or just fortuitous planning, soprano superstars Heidi Grant Murphy and Dawn Upshaw, regional opera queen Brenda Harris, and homegrown up-and-comer Katie Taylor all make appearances this weekend. Murphy and Upshaw take to the recital stage, Harris stars with Portland Opera and Taylor is at the helm of her traveling-opera troupe which will debut at the Someday Lounge.
"All the characters in the show are divas, except, of course, the poor tenor," Taylor says about her show, Will Kill for Vaudeville. "Everybody's conniving for their own success—typical."
These four divas' talents, though, are anything but typical. Murphy and Upshaw are Metropolitan Opera stalwarts, having shared the stage in productions of The Marriage of Figaro and Dialogues of the Carmelites. Bellingham, Wash., native Murphy's star is on the ascendant, and her voice is heard with increasing frequency not only in New York, but also overseas.
Upshaw, approaching 50, could be in the twilight of her active career: She's performing less frequently, becoming increasingly choosy about her creative projects, and taking on a new teaching endeavor in upstate New York. And then there's her health. This will be the first time fans have the chance to hear her perform since discovering she has breast cancer. So, which program has the highest diva quotient? Use this handy weekend diva guide below, but choose wisely.
Diva: Heidi Grant Murphy, lyric soprano (Feb. 7).
Years of diva-dom: A decade or better.
Claim to diva fame: Virgin heroine Sophie in Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier at the Met.
Diva: Dawn Upshaw, lyric soprano (Feb. 8).
Years of diva-dom: At least 20.
Claim to diva fame: Three Grammy awards, 300-plus performance at the Met, and umpteen recordings. Appearance marks her return after battling breast cancer. Talk about a comeback.
Diva: Katie Taylor, stage director (Feb. 10).
Years of diva-dom: Twelve years and counting.
Claim to diva fame: Winning Portland Opera's prestigious Eleanor Lieber Award in 1998, pocketing a $5K check.
Diva: Brenda Harris, dramatic coloratura soprano (Feb. 10).
Years in diva-dom: Sounds like the training wheels are still on.
Claim to diva fame: The New York Times noted Harris' "glass-breaking volume" as Armida in Mozart's La Finta Giardiniera. Oh, snap! —Stephen Marc Beaudoin.
See Classical listings for full concert information.
WWeek 2015