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Vote has sung the title role in Carmen at Staatstheater Mainz and Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier and the Muse/Nicklausse in Les contes d’Hoffmann at Lithuanian National Opera. She appeared as Second Norn in Atlanta Opera’s Götterdämmerung, the final installment of the company’s new Ring cycle, directed by Tomer Zvulun. Vote made her debut with The Cleveland Orchestra as the Mayor’s Wife in a concert performance of Jenůfa under Franz Welser-Möst, followed by her role debut as Amneris in Aida with Opera Southwest. On the concert stage, she has performed Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini in Parma under Roberto Abbado and Verdi’s Requiem with Key Chorale and the New Mexico Symphonic Chorus.
Vote’s longstanding relationship with the Metropolitan Opera has included regular appearances since 2019. Her Met repertoire includes select appearances as Neris in Cherubini’s Medea and Komponist in Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos, alongside numerous performances as Zweite Dame in Simon McBurney’s staging of Die Zauberflöte, beginning with its 2023 Met premiere. Her cover assignments at the Met have included Charlotte in Werther and Waltraute in Die Walküre; in the 2026–27 season, she returns to cover Neris in Medea. She is also heard as Neferneferuaten on the Met’s recording of Philip Glass’s Akhnaten, winner of the Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording.
Among Vote’s other operatic appearances are Komponist in Ariadne auf Naxos with Cincinnati Opera, Mère Marie in Dialogues des Carmélites with Sarasota Opera, and Adalgisa in Norma with Opera Southwest. A returning artist with Atlanta Opera, she has sung Mary in Der fliegende Holländer and Maddalena in Rigoletto. A concert appearance in Brahms’s Alto Rhapsody with the Choral Arts Society of Washington drew particular praise from the Washington Classical Review, which noted that her voice had “grown in richness” and “shimmered with power across its wide compass.”
The 2020-2021 season would have seen Ms. Vote as Ottavia in L’incoronazione di Poppea at Opera Delaware, the 2nd Lady in a new production of The Magic Flute (rescheduled for 2022-23) and covering Fenena in Nabucco for The Metropolitan Opera. In previous seasons, Ms. Vote made multiple house debuts including Komponist in Ariadne auf Naxos with Cincinnati Opera, Maddalena in Rigoletto with Florentine Opera and North Carolina Opera, Mary in a new production by Tomer Zvulum of The Flying Dutchman with Atlanta Opera, Mère Marie in the Dialogues des Carmélites with Sarasota Opera, Adalgisa in Norma with Opera Southwest, and Nicklausse in Les contes d'Hoffmann with Hawaii Opera Theater. On the concert stage, she was heard in Rossini’s Stabat Mater with Washington Choral Arts in D.C. under the baton of Antony Walker, and in Durefle’s Requiem at The Kennedy Center. In a more chamber setting, Olivia has joined the world-renowned Hugo Wolf Quartet from Vienna and performed Respighi's Il Tramonto and selections from Wolf's Italienisches Liederbuch in Massachusetts and New York. She has also collaborated with pianist Brain Ganz to perform multiple song recitals throughout Maryland and Virgina.
Ms. Vote returned to Opernhaus Zürich to sing Dryade in Ariadne auf Naxos with Fabio Luisi and Flora in a new production of La traviata under Maestro Armiliato. She first came to Switzerland from 2012-2014 for the Internationales Opernstudio at Opernhaus Zürich. Highlights of her performances during this period included singing Fidalma in Il Matrimonio Segreto, Philomene in Martinů's Zweimal Alexandre, and as a soloist in Hans Neuenfels's new production, Wie ich Welt wurde, a co-production with the Zürich Shauspielhaus about the life of Richard Wagner. In addition, she performed roles in Rinaldo, La traviata, Meistersinger, Salome, and Rigoletto and covered roles in Madame Butterfly, Alcina, La Straniera, and Falstaff.
"AS DONNA ELVIRA, OLIVIA VOTE... USING HER SIZABLE MEZZO TO ELECTRIC EFFECT THROUGHOUT... HER PASSIONATE DELIVERY LIT UP THE STAGE."
As an active collaborator in the development of new opera, Vote especially enjoys working with composers and librettists as new pieces take shape. That work has included Cold Mountain with Opera Philadelphia and Santa Fe Opera, as well as workshops of The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs and The Righteous for Santa Fe Opera. More recently, she has collaborated with American Lyric Theater’s Composer-Librettist Development Program.
Early in her professional career, Vote spent three seasons at Opernhaus Zürich, first as a member of the International Opera Studio and later as a guest artist. One distinctive project was Hans Neuenfels’s Wie ich Welt wurde, an interdisciplinary collaboration with Schauspielhaus Zürich. Her guest engagements included Dryade in Ariadne auf Naxos under Fabio Luisi and Flora in a new production of La traviata.
She trained at the Academy of Vocal Arts, Yale University, and the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, with young artist residencies at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Wolf Trap Opera, and Santa Fe Opera. She has received awards and grants from the Jensen Foundation, the Sullivan Foundation, and the Loren L. Zachary Society, among others. Most recently, the Olga Forrai Foundation awarded her a grant supporting her continued work in dramatic repertoire, an increasingly important direction in her career.
Passionate about new works Olivia has enjoyed working with Santa Fe Opera and Opera Philadelphia, on Jennifer Higdon's exciting premiere of Cold Mountain. Also with Santa Fe Opera, she participated in the workshop of the premiere of The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, by Mason Bates and Mark Campbell in San Francisco. She sang the role of his wife, Laurene Powell. While at the Academy of Vocal Arts Ms. Vote co-created the title role of Hester Pryne in The Scarlet Letter by Margaret Garwood and enjoyed premiering the work Colors passing through us by teacher and composer David Froom.
Prior to beginning her time in Zürich, Ms. Vote participated as a Filene Young Artist with the Wolf Trap Opera Company. Vote completed her musical studies at Yale University, North Carolina School for the Arts, and the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia.
"AS DONNA ELVIRA, OLIVIA VOTE... USING HER SIZABLE MEZZO TO ELECTRIC EFFECT THROUGHOUT... HER PASSIONATE DELIVERY LIT UP THE STAGE."
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“BIG, RICH VOICE THAT EXPLORED THE NUANCES OF THE POETRY AND PROVIDED THE CONCERT'S HIGH POINT WITH A GORGEOUS PERFORMANCE OF CASTELNUOVO'-TEDESCO'S 'ULAI LAZE YIHIE LI OMETZ.'”
BIOGRAPHY
American mezzo-soprano Olivia Vote brings a richly colored voice and dramatic breadth to the stage. The Philadelphia Inquirer has praised her “theatrical magnetism.” Central to her artistry is a deep investment in storytelling and developing characters honestly. At Lincoln Center Theater, she brought that intimate focus to the character of the Mother in select performances of Kenny Leon’s production of Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors. Her career has unfolded on both sides of the Atlantic, with work at the Metropolitan Opera spanning several seasons. Recent role debuts in Verdi and Wagner reflect an expanding dramatic repertoire, while Strauss and French opera remain important to her work.
Lauded for her “theatrical magnetism” American mezzo-soprano Olivia Vote is continuing to garner success across opera and concert stages.She was most recently called upon last minute to sing the Komponist in Ariadne auf Naxos at The Metropolitan Opera. Since joining the roster of the Metropolitan Opera in 2018, Olivia performed Neferneferuaten in their Grammy-winning recording of Ahknaten by Philip Glass, debuted in Rigoletto as Countess Ceprano, covered Charlotte in Werther, and Waltralte in Die Walküre. This spring saw a return to Washington Choral Arts in D.C. to sing Brahms’s Alto Rhapsody at the National Cathedral.
BIOGRAPHY