Hannah Penn - Mezzo Soprano
Featured as soloist in the SCSO's June 2009 performance of John Corigliano's Fern Hill, Mezzo-soprano Hannah Penn enjoys a diverse career as a performer of opera, oratorio, and recital literature.
Frequently praised for her musicality and the timbre of her voice, Ms. Penn has recently been called “…a major talent”, and “…an intelligent and wonderfully musical singer” by Portland’s Willamette Week, and was praised for having “…intriguing colors at both ends of her range” by The Oregonian.
She has performed with Florida Grand Opera, Portland Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Opera Omaha, and Gotham Chamber Opera, in addition to numerous roles with Indiana University, where she was a student for six years.
A lover of new music, Ms. Penn has performed in the American premiere tours of John Adam's El Nino and Sven-David Sandstrom's High Mass, and has been involved in the American premiers of several operas, including Anthony Davis’ Wakonda’s Dream at Opera Omaha, and David Carlson’s Anna Karenina at Florida Grand Opera. As a recitalist, Ms. Penn has participated in the Steans Institute’s Vocal Chamber Music program, where she performed works by Jake Heggie under the composer’s direction. 
Ms. Penn studied German Lied for three years with renowned collaborative pianist Leonard Hokanson. She has performed in a staged recital of Hugo Wolf's Italienisches Liederbuch under the direction of the great lieder singer Hakan Hagegård, and recently participated in a masterclass on Schubert Lieder given by James Levine at Carnegie Hall.
Engagements for the 2008- 2009 season include Flora (La Traviata), Giovanna (Rigoletto), and Diana in Cavalli’s La Calisto, all through Portland Opera, as well as concert performances of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Oregon Symphony and Mendelssohn’s Elijah with the Master Chorale of South Florida in Miami.
As a member of Portland Opera’s Studio Artist Program last season, Ms. Penn sang the roles of Thisbe (La Cenerentola), Mercedes (Carmen), and Nancy in Benjamin Britten’s Albert Herring. She also sang her first Carmen, under somewhat unusual circumstances; Ms. Penn was covering the role and went on with 24-hours notice, to great critical acclaim. This past summer she had the chance to reprise the role while making her international debut at the Teatro National Sucre in Quito, Ecuador.