Sara Couden
Contralto
Concert Representation Only
“Sara Couden deployed her huge and fluid contralto to glorious effect in a range of vocal showcases — now tender and probing, now extravagantly athletic…drove the audience into such convulsions of delight that applause burst out before the aria was even over.”
— San Francisco Chronicle
Praised by Opera News for her “unusually rich and resonant” voice, contralto Sara Couden is a premiere interpreter of operatic, chamber, and song repertoire. Her latest triumphs include a role debut as “Nurse” in Dukas’ rarely-performed masterwork Ariane et barbe-bleue with West Edge Opera, as well as company debuts with the Philadelphia Orchestra as “Mother/Chinese Cup/Dragon Fly”(L’enfant et les sortilèges), the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra as the Alto Soloist in Julia Perry’s Stabat Mater, and the Charleston Symphony in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. Ms. Couden also recorded her debut solo album, the complete vocal works of Artur Schnabel, on the Steinway & Sons label. Her 2022-23 season includes a return to the Metropolitan Opera to cover “Mrs. Sedley” (Peter Grimes) and company premieres with the Seattle Symphony in Händel’s Messiah, the California Symphony in songs by Mahler, and the Eureka Symphony in Mozart’s Requiem. Read more in biography below.
Recent News
Available Programs
Sara Couden: Flowers, Manners, Devotions
Pieces for the pairing of violin and alto are fairly rare, possibly because of range considerations, but the combination seems to inspire a mood of beautifully winsome contemplation in the composers who approach it. From Caldara’s sprightly meditation on the humility of violets to Bach’s humorous juxtaposition of difficulty and simplicity in the process of picking roses, works for violin and alto seem to channel an uncommon degree of lightness, ease, and interest. In keeping with this spirit, included on the program are some of Haydn’s arrangements of Scottish folk songs (with focus on personalities!) and Jordan Rutter’s arrangements of Dowland songs for violin, alto, and continuo, commissioned for this project, as well as pieces for solo and duet combinations within the ensemble that offer even more variety!
Sara Couden: Night and Day
In two recital options tied to their acclaimed CD on the Steinway label, contralto Sara Couden and pianist Jenny Lin offer Artur Schnabel's songs for his wife, contralto and lieder specialist Therese Behr, alongside powerful and expressive songs by Schubert, Wieck, and Strauss that explore the musical world of nature, memory and emotion that they both created and lived within. One version of the recital includes the haunted music of grief and loss that is Artur's masterful "Notturno".
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Biography
Praised by Opera News for her “unusually rich and resonant” voice, contralto Sara Couden is a premiere interpreter of operatic, chamber, and song repertoire. Her latest triumphs include a role debut as “Nurse” in Dukas’ rarely-performed masterwork Ariane et barbe-bleue with West Edge Opera, as well as company debuts with the Philadelphia Orchestra as “Mother/Chinese Cup/Dragon Fly”(L’enfant et les sortilèges), the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra as the Alto Soloist in Julia Perry’s Stabat Mater, and the Charleston Symphony in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. Ms. Couden also recorded her debut solo album, the complete vocal works of Artur Schnabel, on the Steinway & Sons label. Her 2022-23 season includes a return to the Metropolitan Opera to cover “Mrs. Sedley” (Peter Grimes) and company premieres with the Seattle Symphony in Händel’s Messiah, the California Symphony in songs by Mahler, and the Eureka Symphony in Mozart’s Requiem.
Highlights of recent seasons include a return to Carnegie Hall as the Alto Soloist in Karl Jenkins’ Stabat Mater, role debuts as “Juno” (Semele) and Marquise de Berkenfeld (La fille du régiment) with St. Petersburg Opera, Dejanira (Hercules) at the Staunton Music Festival, Testo in Stradella’s La Susanna with Heartbeat Opera and Opera Lafayette, Bach cantatas at the Philadelphia Chamber Music Series, Shostakovich’s From Jewish Folk Poetry with the Chamber Music Series at Lincoln Center, Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with True Concord Voices, and a return to the Met to cover “Erste Magd” (Elektra) and “Marta” and “Pantalis” (Mefistofele). She also premiered the roles of “Ruth” (Pirates Of Penzance) with Winter Opera St. Louis, “Israelitish Man” (Judas Maccabaeus) with Philharmonia Baroque and “Ormindo” (Ermelinda) with Ars Minerva.
Other favorite performances include Ms. Couden’s debut with the Metropolitan Opera as “Tetka” (Jenufa) and “Albine” (Thaïs). She also toured Japan with Maestro Masaaki Suzuki in Bach’s B MInor Mass, sang “Third Lady” (Die Zauberflöte) with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, “Dryade” (Ariadne Auf Naxos) with West Edge Opera and the Alto Soloist in Mahler’s Second Symphony with the Santa Cruz Symphony and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the San Francisco Symphony, Tucson Symphony and Charlotte Symphony.
Ms. Couden is a graduate of the Lindemann Young Artist Program at the Metropolitan Opera and an alumna of the Marlboro Music Festival, Music@Menlo, Music Academy of the West, and the Institute for Young Dramatic Voices. She holds a M.M with Honors in Opera from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and an A.D. in Early Music, Chamber Music, and Oratorio from the Yale School of Music and Institute of Sacred Music.