Megan Marino
Megan Marino has become a frequent principal artist in the Santa Fe Opera’s Crosby Theatre. Many of us will recall her sprightly portrayal of Cherubino in the 2021 production of Marriage of Figaro. The Santa Fe Reporter accused her of being a “scene stealer” and the Dallas Morning News summed it up, calling her performance “simply wonderful.” Ms. Marino’s spirited turn as Meg Page in 2022’s Falstaff garnered more critical praise. Opera Today declared that she brought “a vivacious mezzo and stage savvy to spare.” Writing about her moving performance as Suzuki in Madama Butterfly in 2018, OperaWire said, “Marino proved that she is a force to be reckoned with. Her plush voice was like balm to the ears in every note she sang.” Ms. Marino was an Apprentice Singer with the Santa Fe Opera in 2013 and 2015, performing the roles of Claire in Cold Mountain and the Page in Salome.
photo: Gillian Riesen
A mezzo soprano, Ms. Marino is not just a regular in Santa Fe; she made her Metropolitan Opera debut in 2013 as the voice of an unborn child in Die Frau ohne Schatten and has returned to that prestigious house every year since. Met Opera roles include parts in La traviata, The Magic Flute, Boris Gudonov, Rusalka, Cenerentola, and Thaϊs. She has also sung principal roles with opera companies in Chicago, Dallas, Miami, Atlanta, Kansas City, to Paris and Pesaro, and extensively throughout the Mountain West.
Ms. Marino has demonstrated a real sense of adventure with her music. She recorded “It’s You I Like,” an album of classically-anchored music for children and their adults, with long-time duo partner and SFO music staff collaborative pianist John Arida. She plays the melodion and sings with Midnight Cricket Club, a bluegrass-fusion band. This year she made her operatic stage directorial debut with Shreveport Opera in The Barber of Seville, and served on the faculty of the Taos Opera Institute in 2023. Season highlights include: Elsa Schrader in Houston Grand Opera’s production of The Sound of Music, a debut with Music of Remembrance in a new piece by Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer in the spring of 2024, and returning to her alma mater, the Osher School of Music at the University of Southern Maine, as Artist in Residence throughout the fall of 2023.
Ms. Marino is married to fellow SFO Apprentice Singer, Michael Mayes. Together, they founded and run the Creede Musical Arts Collective, a 501c3 nonprofit .org aimed at bringing world-class music and dance of all genres to Creede, CO and Southern Colorado/San Luis Valley through live, interactive performances and educational experiences. They are so grateful for the rare gift of spending the summer of 2024 together here in Santa Fe when she sings the role of Annina in Der Rosenkavalier and he anchors the world premiere production of The Righteous, starring alongside Anthony Roth Costanzo and Greer Grimsley. They divide their time off the road between Columbia, South Carolina and Creede, Colorado, with their dog Peak.