Pamela Dellal - Professional Biography

Pamela Dellal Professional Biography

Pamela Dellal, mezzo-soprano, has enjoyed a distinguished career as an acclaimed soloist and recitalist, whose singing has been praised for her "exquisite vocal color," "musical sensitivity," (Worcester Gazette) and "eloquent phrasing" (The Boston Globe). She has appeared in Symphony Hall, the Kennedy Center, Avery Fisher Hall, and the Royal Albert Hall, and premiered a Harbison chamber work in New York, San Francisco, Boston and London. Her repertoire encompasses an astonishing range from 12th-century monody through Renaissance songs, Baroque cantatas and oratorios, 18th–21st century art songs and operas, and premieres of new works. Dellal made her Kennedy Center debut under Julian Wachner in the B-minor Mass, and her Lincoln Center debut under renowned conductor William Christie in Messiah. She performed under other acclaimed conductors such as Seiji Ozawa, Christopher Hogwood, Paul McCreesh, Bernard Labadie and Roger Norrington. Dellal also appeared with the Tokyo Oratorio Society, the Lydian String Quartet, The Bach Choir of Bethlehem, Boston Baroque, the Boston Early Music Festival, Aston Magna, the Dallas Bach Society, The Cayuga Chamber Orchestra, the National Chamber Orchestra, the Evansville Philharmonic, the Baltimore Choral Arts Society and the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Dellal has received critical acclaim for performances of Brahms' Alto Rhapsody, Handel's Messiah, Mozart's C-minor Mass, and Bach's B-minor Mass, St. Matthew and St. John Passions. Her operatic roles include Junon in Charpentier’s Actéon, Dido in Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, Annio and Sesto in Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito, Dorabella in Mozart's Così Fan Tutte, Bradamante in Handel’s Alcina, Erika in Barber’s Vanessa, Lucretia in Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia, and Paulina in Harbison's Winter's Tale. She has been a featured artist with the The Red House Opera Group, Prism Opera Company, Opera Aperta, Ocean State Lyric Opera, the New Boston Theatre Project, and the Opera Company of Boston, and has appeared in concert in major cities in Europe, the United States, Australia and Japan.

Dellal’s association with Emmanuel Music’s renowned cantata series spans her entire career, including performances of nearly every sacred work by Bach. Known for her work with Renaissance and Baroque chamber music, Dellal appeared multiple times with the Boston Early Music Festival, was a frequent guest artist with Ensemble Chaconne and the Musicians of the Old Post Road, and a longtime member of the Blue Heron Renaissance Choir. As a member and Acting Director of Sequentia's women's ensemble Vox Feminae, Dellal made numerous recordings of the music of Hildegard von Bingen, and toured the U.S., Europe, and Australia. A passionate advocate for contemporary music, she was a regular guest with the Boston ensembles Dinosaur Annex and Boston Musica Viva, and also appeared with the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, the Lumen Ensemble and Collage New Music, performing works by contemporary composers such as Martin Boykan, Martin Brody, Edward Cohen, John Harbison, Ruth Lomon, Shulamit Ran, Judith Shatin, Fabio Vacchi, Judith Weir, Scott Wheeler, and others. She has over forty recordings to her credit, on the Artona, BMG, CRI, Dorian, Meridian, and KOCH labels among others (see Discography).

As an educator, Dellal is the Director of the Emmanuel Music Bach Institute, a training program for aspiring young professionals. Dellal teaches Historical Performance, Vocal Studies, and diction and repertoire courses as faculty at The Longy School of Music of Bard College and the Boston Conservatory at Berklee. She also taught at Brandeis University, The Berkshire Choral Festival and at numerous summer workshops including the Amherst Early Music Festival. She has been invited to give master classes and lecture/demonstrations at many institutions throughout the US, including Stanford University, Cal. State Fullerton, SUNY New Paltz, Wellesley College, Wheaton College, and other organizations. She is a recognized specialist in early vocal techniques and the music of Hildegard von Bingen.

Dellal is greatly sought after for her translations of vocal libretti; her translations of the complete vocal works of J.S. Bach are available on the Emmanuel Music website. She is also a major contributor of translations to the recently-completed C.P.E. Bach Complete Works edition published by the Packard Humanities Institute. An article on C.P.E. Bach lieder was published in the August 2014 issue of Early Music (U.K.). She has edited a book on Bach cantatas featuring essays by the late Craig Smith, recently published by Pendragon Press and scheduled for reissue with Mellen Press. More info. at www.pameladellal.com.

Pamela Dellal, mezzo soprano