Dr. Dawn Padula
Contact Information
Dr. Dawn Padula
Voice
Operatic Studies
Phone: (936)294-1375
Office: Music 326
E-mail: dmp004@shsu.edu
Profile of Dr. Dawn Padula
Dr. Dawn M. Padula, mezzo-soprano, has appeared in numerous operatic and concert performances. Recent operatic performances include the roles of Maddalena in Rigoletto (Amarillo Opera) , Isabella in L'Italiana in Algeri , Erika in Vanessa, Marchesa Melibea in Il Viaggio a Reims (Moores Opera Center), Ragonde in Le Comte Ory (Manhattan School of Music Opera Theatre), The Third Lady in Die Zauberflöte (Opera in the Heights) , and the Sorceress in Dido and Aeneas (Ars Lyrica Houston/Houston Chamber Choir). The Newport Classics label has recently released her performance as Bellino in Casanova's Homecoming with the Moores Opera Center . Dr. Padula also created the role of Hagga for the world premiere of Christopher Theofanidis' The Thirteen Clocks (also recorded for commercial release). For the Houston Grand Opera, Dr. Padula sang the role of Sappho in a reading and recording session of Mark Adamo's newest opera, Lysistrata, as well as participating in scenes from Daniel Catan's Salsipuedes, for their New Music Week . Most recently, she portrayed the role of Vera in Gene Murray's The Wage of Sin with Amarillo Opera, a project made possible by a grant from Opera America, which was recorded for educational television (PBS).
Dawn M. Padula, mezzo-soprano, is an avid performer of operatic and concert literature. Recent operatic performances include the roles of the Gingerbread Witch in Hansel and Gretel (The Living Opera), Maddalena in Rigoletto (Amarillo Opera), Isabella in L’Italiana in Algeri, Erika in Vanessa, Marchesa Melibea in Il Viaggio a Reims (Moores Opera Center), Ragonde in Le Comte Ory (Manhattan School of Music Opera Theatre), The Third Lady in Die Zauberflöte (Opera in the Heights), and the Sorceress in Dido and Aeneas (Ars Lyrica Houston/Houston Chamber Choir). The Newport Classics label has recently released her performance as Bellino in Casanova’s Homecoming with the Moores Opera Center. Dr. Padula also created the role of Hagga for the world premiere of Christopher Theofanidis’ The Thirteen Clocks (also recorded for commercial release). For the Houston Grand Opera, Dr. Padula sang the role of Sappho in a reading and recording session of Mark Adamo’s newest opera, Lysistrata, as well as participating in scenes from Daniel Catan’s Salsipuedes, for their New Music Week. Recently, she portrayed the role of Vera in Gene Murray’s The Wage of Sin with Amarillo Opera, a project made possible by a grant from Opera America, which was recorded for educational television (PBS). This season, she will sing Mercedes in Carmen, Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro, and Dangeville in Adriana Lecouvreur with Opera in the Heights. Other upcoming engagements include Loma Williams in Cold Sassy Tree and Prince Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus with Amarillo Opera.
Her extensive concert work with orchestra has included solo work in such pieces as Durufle’s Requiem, Handel’s Messiah and Israel in Egypt, Vivaldi’s Gloria, Mozart’s Requiem, Solemn Vespers, and Coronation Mass, Debussy’s La Damoiselle Elue, Brahms’ Alto Rhapsody, Schubert’s Ständchen, Beethoven’s Mass in C, Choral Fantasy and Symphony No. 9, Honnegger’s King David, Bach’s Magnificat, Bernstein’s Chicester Psalms, and Haydn’s Mass in the Time of War. She has appeared as a soloist with such organizations as the Houston Masterworks Chorus, the Houston Chamber Choir, the Alamo City Men’s Chorale, the Sons of Orpheus Men’s Ensemble, the Woodlands Symphony Orchestra, the Men’s Consort of Houston, the Symphony North of Houston, the Black Note Ensemble, the Bay Area Chorus and the Foundation for Modern Music. With the Moores Collegium Musicum and Ars Lyrica Houston, she has portrayed the roles of both Tempo and Disinganno in the American premiere of the 1737 version of Handel’s oratorio, Il Trionfo del Tempo é delle Veritá, the role of Phoebus in Bach’s BWV 201, Jacquet de la Guerre’s Jepthe, as well as the title role of Cain in Scarlatti’s Il Primo Omicidio Overo. This year, she performed as the Alto Soloist in Penderecki’s Credo with the Houston Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Maestro Jahja Ling of the San Diego Symphony.
Dr. Padula received her Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance from the Manhattan School of Music in New York City, and her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Vocal Performance with a concentration in Vocal Pedagogy and Voice Science from University of Houston’s Moores School of Music. She also has been a member of the Opera Studio of the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria, was a semi-finalist in both the Shreveport Opera and NATS Singer of the Year Competitions, was a regional finalist in the San Francisco Opera Center’s Merola Program auditions, and was named a Fellow to the Tanglewood Music Center. Dr. Padula currently is Assistant Professor of Voice at Sam Houston State University where she is Director of Opera Workshop, and is the instructor of Vocal Pedagogy, Song Literature, and Opera Literature.