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Erin Wall (4 November 1975 – 8 October 2020) was a Canadian-American operatic soprano.

Biography

Born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada to American parents, Wall studied at the Vancouver Academy of Music, Western Washington University, Rice University and Music Academy of the West and was a finalist at the Cardiff Singer of the World competition in Wales in 2003.

In July 2002 she made her international debut in London with a performance in the War Requiem of Benjamin Britten.

Death

Wall died on October 8, 2020 from complications caused by metastatic breast cancer. She was 44 years old.

Career

Following graduation from the Lyric Opera of Chicago's Lyric Opera Center for American Artists, she was engaged for three seasons with the company. Making a significant impression as the understudy for Karita Mattila, she appeared in Chicago on opening night in September 2004 as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, filling in for Karita Mattila. Mark Thomas Ketterson of Opera News said "(she) sang gloriously..defiantly launching her voluminous soprano through the fabric of the ensembles and coursing through the coloratura with precision and verve. …..This was as beautifully vocalized a Donna Anna as one is likely to encounter today". Opera Today expressed similar enthusiasm.

Other roles have included Gerhilde in Die Walküre, the Flowermaiden in Parsifal, Marguerite in Faust and Freia in Das Rheingold while, in March 2006, she sang Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte.

At the 2006 Mostly Mozart Festival in New York she caught the attention of Alex Ross who noted that "Erin Wall, a young Canadian, sang "Bella mia fiamma … Resta, o cara" (Mozart) with grace and fire, showing the sort of righteous rage that would make for a great Donna Anna. I hope someone from the Met was taking notes". Internationally, she has appeared in Paris, Aix-en-Provence and Vienna.

During the 2007 summer festival season of the Santa Fe Opera she sang the role of Daphne in Richard Strauss' Daphne: "Erin Wall took on the leading role, a perilous undertaking for a soprano still early in her career, but she displayed an impressive command of Strauss's taxing music". This was followed by the role of Donna Anna in Don Giovanni at the Washington National Opera in late October/November 2007: "Erin Wall was a sympathetic Donna Anna who fleshed out the character with a truly noble bearing and filled out the melodic lines with a combination of steel and sweetness. Sure coloratura and incisive phrasing (including hairpin shifts of dynamics) completed the impressive vocal package."

On 13 April 2009, Erin Wall made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni to critical acclaim.

On 24 July 2011, Erin Wall sang along with legendary baritone Ruggero Raimondi at the opening of the Gran Teatro Nacional, in Lima, Peru.

In 2017 and 2019 Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, under the direction of Ed Gardner, toured with Benjamin Britten's Peter Grimes in Bergen, Oslo, Edinburgh and London. Erin Wall sang the part of Ellen Orford, opposite Stuart Skelton's titular character.

References

1. "Alumni Roster". musicacademy.org. Archived from the original on 5 June 2012. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
2. Kay, Graeme (29 June 2003). "BBC Singer of the World 2003 | Graeme Kay's Diary: Day 8". BBC. Archived from the original on 3 June 2006. Retrieved 20 January 2020. I wonder if she's nervous, but things come together better in her Strauss song, and as a member of the Chicago Lyric Opera studio, no doubt she was cheered to hear the leading scream of 'Bravoooooo!' from the unmistakable voice of Matthew Epstein...artistic director of Chicago Lyric Opera.
3. Borts-Kuperman, Leah (9 October 2020). "Erin Wall, beloved Canadian soprano, passed away on Oct. 8 at age 44". Opera Canada. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
4. Morgan, Scott C. (9 October 2020). "Erin Wall, a veteran Lyric Opera and CSO soprano, dies at 44". Daily Herald. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
5. Mark Thomas Ketterson, Opera News, December 2004, vol 69, no.5
6. Andrew Green, "Walk Out", Opera Today, March/April 2007, p. 109, quotes press reports which include comments such as "Her soprano is a gleaming flexible instrument" (Chicago Sun-Times)
7. Alex Ross, "A Little Late Night Music", The New Yorker, 29 August 2006
8. Simon Williams, Opera News, November 2007, vol 72, no.5
9. Tim Smith, Opera News, February 2008, vol 72, no.8
10. Mike Silverman, "3 promising singers debut in 'Don Giovanni' at Met", The Associated Press, 13 April 2009
11. https://harmonien.no/program/2019/11/peter-grimes/
12. https://www.bno.no/mennesker/erin-wall

External links

• Official website
• Erin Wall discography at Discogs

• 1975 births
• 2020 deaths
• Canadian operatic sopranos
• Musicians from Calgary
• Vancouver Academy of Music alumni
• Rice University alumni
• Music Academy of the West alumni
• Western Washington University alumni
• 21st-century Canadian opera singers
• 21st-century Canadian women singers
• 21st-century women opera singers
• Deaths from breast cancer
• Canadian people of American descent