Cindy Sadler
Mezzo-soprano Cindy Sadler has been heralded for her “rich, satiny” voice (Palm Beach Post), “a magnificent mezzo voice that is big, well-controlled, and always, always, unbelievably rich throughout its range” (Arizona Sun); her “imposingly sung and vividly acted” performances (Boston Globe) and a stage presence which embraces drama and comedy with equal flair. Her 2008-2009 season encompasses performances as Hecate with Austin Shakespeare’s production of MacBeth, featuring original music composed for her voice; Frugola, Zita, and La Zia Principessa in El Paso Opera’s production of Il Trittico, and New Orleans Opera’s Trittico, where she “just about stole the show as Schicchi‘s dragon lady, Zita” and “added relief to the gloom” of Tabarro (Theodore P. Mahne, The Times-Picayune). Other recent performances include Berta in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Austin Lyric Opera, and the mezzo soloist in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Youngstown Symphony. Upcoming engagements include company debuts as Mamma Lucia in Cavalleria rusticana with San Antonio Opera, featuring Andrea Bocelli as Turiddu and Veronica Villaroel as Santuzza, Erda in Das Rheingold with Indianapolis Opera; and the Pigeon and the Snail in Jonathan Dove’s The Adventures of Pinocchio with The Minnesota Opera. Ms. Sadler will also return to Austin Lyric Opera as Mère Jeanne, covering Madame de Croissy, in Dialogues des Carmélites.
Ms. Sadler’s operatic repertoire embraces a wide range of comedic and dramatic roles, including Baba the Turk, for which Opera News cheered her as “an absolute scream” (Mark Thomas Ketterson); Dame Quickly in Falstaff (“always a thrill”, Sharon McDaniel, Palm Beach Post), Mrs. Patrick de Rocher (Dead Man Walking), Amneris (Aida), Augusta Tabor (The Ballad of Baby Doe), Fricka (Die Walküre), Erda (Das Rheingold and Siegfried), Tituba (The Crucible; “… a deep, smoky contralto, with an exotic color that perfectly suited the music”, Ed Tapper, Boston Bay Windows) and Zulma (L’italiana in Algeri). She has performed in venues such as Lyric Opera of Chicago, Opera Pacific, Opera Boston, Arizona Opera, the Hollywood Bowl, Austin Lyric Opera, Fort Worth Opera, Austin Symphony, Central City Opera, and Chamber Opera Chicago.
Ms. Sadler’s professional debut occurred in 1991 concerts at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. She went on to win international acclaim for her performances in Arizona Opera’s Ring Cycles in 1996 and 1998, where as the only cast member to sing in all four operas she “knocked ‘em dead” (Kenneth LeFave, Opera News) with her “opulent mezzo” (Dorothy Stowe, Deseret News) and her dramatic presence: “with Cindy Sadler, a rich-voiced, pungent Earth Goddess, true frisson was achieved” (American Record Guide).
An accomplished concert artist and recitalist, Ms. Sadler counts among her repertoire the Beethoven Ninth with the Youngstown Symphony, the Verdi Requiem and Elijah with the Choral Arts Society of Austin, TX, Handel’s Messiah with the Austin Symphony and many other venues, Beethoven’s Missa solemnis and the Bruckner Mass in F Minor with the Austin Civic Chorus, and the Dvorak and Mozart Requiem with the St. Edward’s University Madrigal Singers and Orchestra.
Ms. Sadler is a graduate of the University of Texas, where she studied with veteran Metropolitan Opera star Mignon Dunn. She currently studies with Gregory Lamar. She resides in Austin with her husband, Eric, and their two opera-hating Dachshunds, Samson and Dalila.
