Hannah Holmes

American mezzo-soprano Hannah Holmes is a versatile crossover artist and comedienne. Through her appearances with the New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players, the Ohio Light Opera, and the Victor Herbert Renaissance project, she has developed a specialty in operetta and early to Golden Age musical theater. 

 

In the 19/20 season, Hannah is slated to perform with the Victor Herbert Renaissance Project in The Debutante, with NYGASP in Iolanthe and The Gondoliers, to tour nationally with The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado, and continue for a fifth season in the professional choir at St. James Episcopal Church, Manhattan. 

 

A frequent performer with the Ohio Light Opera, Hannah has sung and danced in 34 shows over six summers with the company. Role highlights there include The Witch in Into the Woods, Molly Gray in Gershwin’s Girl Crazy, May DeVere in Porter’s Fifty Million Frenchmen, Lois Lane/Bianca in Porter's Kiss Me, Kate, and Ruth in Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance. She was also featured as a dancer in a number of the productions, including Die Fledermaus, The King & I (Little Eva), Babes in Arms (Maizie LaMar/dream ballet performer). Hannah can also be heard on the Albany Records recording of OLO’s production of Dream City and the Magic Knight, as Gladys Peck.

 

Other recent appearances include solo performances with the Friends of Mozart Eastman Alumni concert, the Southeast Iowa Symphony Pops! concert, and the InterArts Festival for student composition at Juilliard. An avid tap dancer, Hannah regularly performs outreach programs in the greater New York area with the Foot and Fiddle Dance Company. 

 

Hannah received her Master's of Music in Vocal Performance & Literature at the Eastman School of Music, where she studied with renowned mezzo-soprano Katherine Ciesinski. At Eastman, she performed the role of Florence Pike in Albert Herring and covered the role of Mother Marie in Dialogues of the Carmelites. She was featured as a soloist with the Repertory Singers, the Women's Ensemble, the Voices professional chorus, the baroque ensemble Collegium Musicum, and the Bach Cantata series.

 

Hannah received her Bachelor in Music from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Favorite roles at UNL included The Old Lady in Candide, the Third Lady in Der Zauberflöte, and Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro. 

 

An Iowa native, Hannah currently resides in New York City with her husband, bass-baritone Paul Holmes. She continues her studies with Claudia Catania. 

 

(Fall 2019)