Karen Jolicoeur
A versatile singer and performer, Ms. Jolicoeur’s credits range from opera and concert to musical theater and dance. She is a Principal Artist with the Experience Vocal Dance Company, and has recently released a CD of lullabies entitled "The Dream That You Wish."
As a concert soloist, she appeared at Carnegie Hall in the Fauré Requiem and the Haydn Little Organ Mass. Other concert engagements have included the Bach Magnificat, Handel’s Messiah, the Haydn Nelson Mass, Mozart Vespers, Orff’s Carmina Burana, and the Poulenc and Vivaldi Glorias.
A powerful performer and an accomplished musician, Ms. Jolicoeur is noted for her poignant interpretations of modern repertoire. She has performed in numerous premières for New York composers, including critically acclaimed performances of Peter Westergaard’s Alice in Wonderland and Daron Hagen and Paul Muldoon’s Vera of Las Vegas, both with the Center for Contemporary Opera. Other premières include A Summer’s Dream (Toscano), a song cycle that was written for her, with the Greenwich Village Philharmonic; a reading of John Grace Ranter (Sahl/Yard), which was aired on National Public Radio; and many other readings and demo recordings of new works for New York composers. Her 20th-century repertoire includes critically acclaimed portrayals of Blanche de la Force in Dialogues of the Carmelites (“…sang with warmth and grace – a timid, tender Blanche.” Anthony Tomassini, special to The Boston Globe) and Anne Trulove in The Rake’s Progress (“…a glistening and distinctive quality of tone…” Richard Dyer, The Boston Globe), as well as Polly Peachum in Threepenny Opera, the Girl in Bernsteinʹs Trouble in Tahiti and the Female Chorus in The Rape of Lucretia.
Bringing the same flair to traditional repertoire, Ms. Jolicoeur has performed the roles of Violetta in La traviata, Euridice in Orfeo ed Euridce (Gluck), Adele in Die Fledermaus, Frasquita in Carmen, Sophia in Il Signor Bruschino and Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi. She has appeared with L’Opéra Français de New York at Alice Tully Hall, Eugene Opera, Connecticut Grand Opera, Metro Lyric Opera and as a young artist with Central City Opera, the Opera Theater of St. Louis and the prestigious Israel Vocal Arts Institute.
Ms. Jolicoeur holds a master's degree from the New England Conservatory and earned her bachelor's degree at the Hartt School of Music. She began her professional career in the regional theater at the age of eighteen as Maria in West Side Story followed by Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance. She hails from Westborough, Massachusetts and now makes her home in New York City.