Nashville, TN

July 17, 1960

Soprano Dawn Upshaw was born July 17, 1960; she first rose to prominence in 1984 after winning the Young Concert Artists International Auditions, and was soon invited to join the studio of the Metropolitan Opera. Upshaw's Met exposure quickly allowed her to assume roles, including Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, Zerlina in Don Giovanni, and both Susanna and Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro; in 1986 she made her Salzburg Festival debut in Figaro, returning there often in the years to follow for acclaimed performances in St François d'Assise and The Rake's Progress. Other appearances of note include turns in Così fan Tutte and Pelléas and Mélisande; Upshaw also recorded a series of acclaimed LPs like 1990's Grammy-winning The Girl with Orange Lips, 1995's I Wish It So and 1999's Sings Vernon Duke. ~ Jason Ankeny