Mezzo soprano KARA DUGAN has been praised by The New York Times for her “vocal warmth and rich character.” She has made debuts with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, and Buffalo Philharmonic. She performed with the New World Symphony in the world premiere of Michael Tilson Thomas’ Four Preludes on Playthings of the Wind and its New York premiere at Carnegie Hall.

Ms. Dugan has performed at venues ranging from National Sawdust to Alice Tully Hall. Operatic highlights include Cherubino in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro, Zaida in Rossini’s Il Turco in Italia, and Nireno in Handel’s Giulio Cesare. This summer season she sang at the Metropolitan Opera House in a seven-show run of American Ballet Theater's production of Christopher Wheeldon and Joby Tablot's Like Water for Chocolate.

Her love of new music has sparked collaborations with the Albany Symphony performing Michael Daugherty’s This Land Sings, a multi-genre tribute to Woody Guthrie, the title role in American Lyric Theater’s workshop premiere of Working for the Macbeths composed by Johanny Navarro with libretto by Marcus Yi, as well as a performance in a workshop of Ricky Ian Gordon’s Intimate Apparel with Lincoln Center Theater. As an inaugural member of WQXR’s Artist Propulsion Lab, she commissioned and performed the world premiere of In a New York Minute: Miniatures for Voice and Piano, a song cycle highlighting the voices and perspectives of women and everyday New Yorkers.

She performs often with her husband Peter Dugan, pianist and host of NPR’s From the Top. The duo’s eclectic repertoire has brought them to a wide range of venues from Joe’s Pub at The Public Theater to Sun Valley’s Argyros Theater, where they joined genre-defying string group Time for Three.

Ms. Dugan received her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from The Juilliard School. She is a proud recipient of the Novick Career Advancement Grant.

karadugan.com