BIOGRAPHY

American coloratura soprano, Bridget Cappel, is swiftly establishing herself as a rising star in the realm of opera, renowned for her captivating stage presence, soaring coloratura, and sumptuous soprano. With a versatile repertoire spanning traditional operatic classics, contemporary American works, and finding herself equally fluent and strong in musical theater, she has garnered critical acclaim for her “beauty of tone and honesty of feeling,” highlighting her “wicked sense of humor” (Boston Musical Intelligencer, Theater Jones Reviews).

Bridget boldly announced a significant fach change this season moving away from lyric mezzo-soprano repertoire and into a new world of thrilling coloratura and glittering high notes galore as a high lyric coloratura soprano. She presented new repertoire with a concert hosted by The Puccini Society of Dallas wowing with selections including “Glitter and be Gay” from Berstein’s Candide, the Enrico/Lucia duet from Lucia di Lammermoor, and “Quando m’en vo” from La Bohème, among others. Additional roles in preparation include The Queen of the Night from Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, the title role in Delibes’ Lakmé, and Gilda in Verdi’s Rigoletto.

With “beauty of tone and honesty of feeling,” Bridget made a welcome return to the Fort Worth Opera stage this past season where she “aptly personified and mellifluously sung” the role of Meg in Adamo’s Little Women under the baton of Tyson Deaton and direction of Claire Choquette (The Dallas Morning News). “Clear and assured,” (Opera News), she previously created the role of Toypurina in Fort Worth Opera’s world premiere of Zorro by Hector Armienta. Bridget captivated audiences this spring with her assertive portrayal of Eduige in Opera NEO’s Rodelinda, praised for her “supple, beautifully focused voice” (San Diego Story). Her stay in California was followed by a company and role debut with Oklahoma City’s Painted Sky Opera as Alisa in Lucia di Lammermoor sharing the stage with her husband, baritone Erik Earl Larson as Enrico.

Bridget had the pleasure of collaborating with the Cliburn Foundation and Fort Worth Opera on a special evening with acclaimed composer and pianist Jake Heggie at the Kimbell Art Museum. She performed Heggie’s song cycle What I Miss the Most, originally composed for mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton, featuring poignant poetry by Joyce DiDonato, Patti LuPone, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sister Helen Prejean, and Kathleen Kelly.

In Summer 2023, Bridget joined The Glimmerglass Festival as a Young Artist, covering the title role of Handel’s Rinaldo. She also performed as an ensemble member in both Puccini’s La Bohème and Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, and delighted audiences with selections from Rossini, Mozart, Bernstein, and more during Midday Music concerts and various events for festival patrons.

“Assertive…supple, beautifully focused voice"

- San Diego Story

Bridget’s recent performance at Shreveport Opera was a standout, where she made a memorable role debut as the witty and charming Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia. Her portrayal was celebrated for its “dazzling coloratura, beautiful lyricism, and Spanish fire!” under the direction of Megan Marino and the baton of Maestro Joe Illick. She also shone as the bubbly Flora Bervoix in Verdi’s La Traviata that same season. That spring, Bridget was a top ten finalist performing in the Opera Birmingham Vocal Competition and placed 3rd runner up winning the Lorena Bessy Mangin Memorial Award in the prestigious Mary Jacobs Smith Singer of the Year Competition at Shreveport Opera (2023).

In Summer 2023, Bridget returned to Opera Mississippi and The Natchez Festival of Music as a soloist in the spectacular aria concert “The Magic of Opera,” which featured a fusion of opera’s greatest moments with magic, dance, aerial silks, contortion, and more.

Bridget created the role of the wise Toypurina in the world premiere of Hector Armienta’s Zorro with Fort Worth Opera. She also made her professional recording debut with the Dallas Bach Society as La Poesie in Carpentier’s rarely performed Les Arts Florissants. Bridget was honored to be a semi-finalist in both the Palm Springs Opera Competition and the Mary Jacobs Singer of the Year Competition.

In the summer of 2021, Bridget performed in a multi-concert series with Opera Mississippi, The Natchez Festival of Music, and Festival South’s A Night at the Opera. Her repertoire included selections from Bizet’s Carmen, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Rigoletto, Showboat, and more.

Bridget was cast to perform Toypurina in Fort Worth Opera’s Noches de Ópera production of Zorro and Siébel in Opera NEO’s production of Faust in 2020; however, both performances were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A winner of Opera Mississippi’s John Alexander National Vocal Competition and a regional finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions (2019), Bridget is also a first-place winner of the Kalamazoo Bach Society Young Artist competition.

During the 2019/2020 season with Kentucky Opera, Bridget made her company debut as Mercédès in Bizet’s Carmen and covered the title role as a Sandford Studio Artist. As an apprentice artist at Des Moines Metro Opera, she covered Paquette in Candide and performed in apprentice scenes as Rosina, Mercédès, and Zweite Dame. That spring, she performed the title role in La Tragedie de Carmen and Meg Page in Verdi’s Falstaff with the TCU Opera Studio under the direction of David Gately.

“The trio of mestiza and indigenous women demonstrated great overall balance, with clear and assured solo passages by mezzo-soprano Bridget Cappel as Toypurina” 

— Opera News

In the 2017/2018 season, Bridget performed Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Toledo in the world premiere of The Falling and the Rising, in collaboration with the United States Army Field Band Soldiers’ Chorus. She also covered Maria in Maria de Buenos Aires and performed Hansel in Hansel and Gretel as a Hattie Mae Lesley Apprentice Artist with Fort Worth Opera, in addition to singing excerpts from new works in the Fort Worth Opera Frontiers Festival.

Previously, Bridget was an Apprentice Artist with Charlottesville Opera and has been featured in roles such as Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady, Alfred in the piano/vocal premiere of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Herschel Garfein, and Hattie/Gladys in the world premiere of Even Mack’s Roscoe at Seagle Music Colony.

Bridget earned her Master’s in Music from Boston University, where she performed Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro, Mrs. Bass in Emmeline, Mezzo-soprano in Hydrogen Jukebox, and Dorabella in Così fan tutte. She also won first place in the Kalamazoo Bach Festival Competition (2015) and was a semi-finalist in the AIMS Meistersinger Competition in Graz, Austria. She holds a Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance and a Bachelor of Arts in Film, Video, and Media Studies from Western Michigan University.

Complimenting her operatic career, Bridget is a lead soloist and performing producer with The Tapestry, a Rock/Opera quartet. With The Tapestry, she performs innovative covers and mashups, including Carmen with Michael Jackson, Wagner with Van Halen, and selections from Pink Floyd, Tosca, Phil Collins, the Mozart Requiem, and Les Misérables, as well as her signature solo cover of “Alone” by Heart.

Bridget leads a private voice studio in Dallas, Texas of over 30 students of all ages meeting both in person and online. She has worked with singers all over the country and internationally with students in states such as New York, Alaska, and even Hong Kong, China. A selection of Bridget’s students attend Booker T. Washionton performing arts high school in the Musical Theater program, perform leading roles in North Texas Performing Arts, and have gone on to pursue music in college and as professionals.