ABOUT

Mezzo-soprano Sarah Neal (they/them, she/her) has been hailed as “a musical and theatrical joy” for their performances onstage (The Gazette, 2023). Sarah cherishes the diverse arts scene in Houston where she is based and intricately linked with not only the classical music community, but also the visual arts community as a fiber artist and the thriving rock climbing culture of East Texas.

Most recently, Sarah returned to Central City Opera for their second season as an Apprentice Artist where they performed Gertrude in Roméo et Juliette as well as chorus in Cole Porter’s Kiss me Kate and Rossini’s Otello. This season, Sarah also joined Mercury Chamber Orchestra in Houston for their program Bach’s Mighty Fortress, including Cantatas BWV 131 and BWV 80.

Up next, Sarah is thrilled to join Opera Memphis as their Resident Mezzo-Soprano. First in the 2024-2025 Season, Sarah will perform as the Mezzo Soloist in Gregg Kallor’s new chamber opera for solo mezzo-soprano The Tell-Tale Heart. Sarah looks forward to bringing the character of Mercédès in Bizet’s Carmen to life, as well as covering the title role. Finally, this coming spring, Sarah will appear as Endimione in a wildly fun production of La Calisto.

In the last year, Sarah has received numerous awards from acclaimed vocal competitions. Most recently, Sarah was grateful to win 2nd Prize in the Dallas Opera Biennial Vocal Competition. Other awards in the past year include Houston District Winner of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition and Second Place in both the Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Houston’s Career Grant Competition and the San Antonio Tuesday Musical Club’s Young Artist Competition.

During the 2021-22 season, Sarah appeared with the Baroque chamber orchestra, Ars Lyrica Houston as the mezzo-soprano soloist in a fully-staged modern interpretation of J.S. Bach’s “Ich habe genug” (BWV 82). Later that same season, Sarah returned to Ars Lyrica as the First Witch (Dido cover) in Dido and Aeneas in collaboration with the New York Baroque Dance Company. During the summer of 2022, Sarah made her debut with Central City Opera, covering the uproarious Prince Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus.

Sarah completed their Masters of Music in 2021 at the University of Houston where they had the opportunity to perform many leading operatic roles, including the title role in La Cenerentola, Nancy in Albert Herring, Dinah in Trouble and Tahiti, Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro, and Venus in Orpheus in the Underworld.

When not practicing, Sarah can be found knitting and needle felting for hours, falling off of climbing routes, and roasting whole spices in their kitchen.