Biography
German-born soprano Kala Maxym has been praised by the Boston Globe for her “lustrous” voice. Only recently having taken on the lyric soprano repertoire, Kala opened the 2011 season as Stéphano in Roméo et Juliette with Chesapeake Chamber Opera and also performed the role of the Nymph in Britten’s Fairy Queen with Big Apple Baroque in June. With mezzo-soprano Kara Cornell, she participated in the University of Albany’s Bel Canto Series in March and will end the season singing the role of Ella in excerpts of a new opera, Faustine, which will be presented at Opera America by the Center for Contemporary Opera. She is also thrilled to be recording several songs for American composer Tim Prepscius.
Photo by Arielle Doneson
Kala spent much of 2010 on the concert stage. Highlights include two benefit recitals — one in New York and one in Santiago, Chile — for Chilean Earthquake relief (coordinated with support from the Fundación Gabriela Mistral and the Permanent Mission of Chile to the United Nations), a solo recital to benefit Opera for Humanity, and an appearance with Opus Nine Ensemble in New York. She ended the season with two concerts in Chile as soprano soloist in Handel’s Messiah with the Camerata Universidad Andrés Bello. During the 2008-2009 season she was a Principal Artist with Diva Opera, the UK’s foremost chamber opera company, where she sang over 40 performances of Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro and Hänsel in Hänsel und Gretel in venues throughout the UK, Switzerland, and France. She was asked to sing at the Democrats Abroad inaugural ball for President Barack Obama in London and performed impromptu for Chilean President Sebastián Piñera during a recent visit to the country.
During the 2007 season, Kala was a Young Artist at Opera Santa Barbara where she performed the role of Giovanna and covered the role of Maddalena in Rigoletto. She also returned to Chicago Opera Theater for a second season as a Young Artist to cover the title role in Berlioz’s Béatrice et Bénédict. Other recent roles include the covers of Nancy T’ang in Nixon in China and Ursula in The Padlock also for Chicago Opera Theater, Flora in La traviata and Alisa in Lucia di Lammermoor with the Aspen Opera Theater Center, and Nancy in Albert Herring, Nefertiti in Akhnaten, and Sor Rosa in With Blood, With Ink with The Boston Conservatory Opera.
Photo by Arielle Doneson
Kala has presented solo recitals or been featured in recital at Hawai’i Public Radio, the Freeport Memorial Library, the Chicago Cultural Center, the Aspen Music Festival, the University of Hawai’i, the University of Albany, and the Faulkner Gallery in Santa Barbara, CA, and has collaborated with the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble, Musica Viva, The Choral Arts Society of Washington, The Boston Conservatory Wind Ensemble, and The Boston Conservatory Women’s Chorus. She is also on the roster of Sing for Hope (www.singforhope.org).
Kala graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa with a BA in Political Science and Music from Barnard College, Columbia University. Recruited because of her related work experience and facility with languages, she worked as a Senior Program Analyst with the Criminal Division of the United States Department of Justice, but after two years decided to pursue her lifelong love of singing, receiving her MMus in Opera Performance from The Boston Conservatory. She also holds a Graduate Certificate in Spanish-to-English Translation from New York University. Kala is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of The Opera Insider, a social and professional networking community for opera lovers and opera professionals from both sides of the curtain (www.theoperainsider.com).
An American citizen, Kala was born in Saarbrücken, Germany, and has lived throughout Europe, the United States, and Latin America. She currently lives in New York City.