Megan Pachecano, soprano
Praised for her “lucid soprano” (The New York Times), Megan Pachecano has performed on such stages as Carnegie Hall and the Metropolitan Opera, under the batons of Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Gustavo Dudamel, and other illustrious artists. She brings a “shimmering lyric soprano” (Opera News) to rare roles such as Beatriz in Catán’s La hija de Rappaccini with Chicago Opera Theater, an Emmy-nominated production, and the title role of Lady Jane Grey in the World Premiere performance and commercial recording of Rosner’s The Chronicle of Nine: The Tragedy of Queen Jane with Grammy-winning ensembles Odyssey Opera and the Boston Modern Orchestra Project. Other treasured experiences include a live broadcast performance on Radio Television Hong Kong as Valencienne (The Merry Widow) with Musica Viva HK and many productions with the Metropolitan Opera Chorus. Some favorite roles have been Adina (L’elisir d’amore), Norina (Don Pasquale), Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro), Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte), Cunegonde (Candide), Cinderella (Into the Woods), Frasquita (Carmen), Anne Page (Sir John in Love), Farinelli’s Trainer (Vinkensport, or The Finch Opera), Younger Alyce (Glory Denied), and Echo (Ariadne auf Naxos). She has sung with the Bayerische Staatsoper, Austin Opera, Caramoor International Music Festival, Opera Saratoga, American Lyric Theater, St. Petersburg Opera, the Opera Company of Middlebury, Opera in Williamsburg, and the Orchestra of New Spain at the Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s Soluna Festival, among others.
A frequent concert soloist, Ms. Pachecano has performed Handel’s Messiah, Israel in Egypt, Samson, Jephtha, Saul, and made her Lincoln Center solo debut at Alice Tully Hall with an excerpt from Judas Maccabaeus. She has also performed the solos in Mozart’s Great Mass in C minor, Coronation Mass, Requiem, and Exsultate, jubilate, Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass and Little Organ Mass, Ravel’s Shéhérazade, Beethoven’s Die Ruinen von Athen, and Villa-Lobos’ Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 singing with the Helena Symphony, Wheeling Symphony, Round Rock Symphony Orchestra, Mid-Texas Symphony, Astoria Symphony Orchestra, Colorado Pops Orchestra, Ad Astra Music Festival, and Westminster Choral Festival. She was a soloist on the Naxos recording American Choral Music and recently performed Zipoli’s Zuipaqui with Opera Hispánica for the Univision Television Network’s “Serenata a la Virgen de Guadalupe” Live Broadcast.
Ms. Pachecano presented a solo cabaret recital with the Odeon Theater’s Concert Series and has performed in musical theatre showcases at the Ensemble Studio Theatre, The PIT, and Daryl Roth Theatres in New York City as well as having the honor of singing in the Peter Shaffer Memorial at the American Airlines Theatre on Broadway. She created the role of Elizabeth on the cast album of Melillo’s Son of the Storm and was a soloist on the Naxos recording American Choral Music. As Guest Artists at Colorado State University, she and Mezzo-Soprano Sarah Nelson Craft gave a duet art song recital entitled The Tides of Love. The two have enjoyed much critical notice of their vocal blend, together called “pliant and luminous” and praised for their “fluid, robust singing.” As a guest clinician, Ms. Pachecano regularly delivers educational seminars, and was most recently presented by the Belle Époque Magique Concert Series in Leysin, Switzerland in a dual workshop and recital format.
Ms. Pachecano holds a Master of Classical Voice (Manhattan School of Music) and a Bachelor of Voice Performance (University of Texas at Austin, Butler School of Music). She is a Grammy-voting member of the Recording Academy and serves on the Classical Membership Committee.
When not traveling on the road as a soloist, Ms. Pachecano splits her time between her home in Munich, Germany and her hometown of San Antonio, Texas.