About Helen
Soprano Helen Todd is known for her intense portrayals of tragic characters. Ms. Todd began her career in the lyric coloratura repertoire and began to achieve national recognition in the 1996-97 season with her portrayal of Violetta in La Traviata with Minnesota Opera (the English National Opera / Jonathan Miller production). Also with Minnesota Opera, under the baton of Maestro Richard Bonynge, Ms. Todd has appeared as the Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflöte.
Ms. Todd debuted with Canadian Opera Company in the Canadian premiere of THE HANDMAID'S TALE in the fall of 2004 as Aunt Lydia. In the spring of 2005, Ms. Todd debuted the role of Madame Mao in NIXON IN CHINA at Minnesota Opera. Engagements during the 2003-04 season included the title role in Lucia di Lammermoor with Opera Illinois and Juliette in Romeo & Juliette with Sugar Creek Symphony & Song Festival. Engagements during the 2002-03 season included a return to Minnesota Opera as Aunt Lydia in the North American premiere of Poul Ruder's The Handmaid's Tale;
appearances with Cleveland Opera as the Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflöte; and Wanda in a semi-staged production of The Grand Duchess of Geraldstein with the OK Mozart Festival. Also during the 2002-03 season, Ms. Todd founded the Sugar Creek Symphony & Song Festival, and became its Artistic Director.
Engagements during the 2001-02 season included a debut with New York City Opera as the Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute, Violetta in La Traviata with Asheville Lyric Opera, and Clorinda in a semi-staged production of La Cenerentola with the OK Mozart Festival (conducted by Ransom Wilson).
Recent career highlights have included the Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflöte with Arizona Opera, Tulsa Opera, Nevada Opera, Opera North, and the Colorado Opera Festival; Gilda in Rigoletto with Calgary Opera (her Canadian debut), Annapolis Opera, and Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre; Fiorilla in Rossini's Il Turco in Italia with Cleveland Opera; Alexandra in Regina with Baltimore Opera; Curley's Wife in Carlisle Floyd's Of Mice and Men with Arizona Opera and Cleveland Opera (conducted by Anton Coppola); Fiordiligi in Cosí Fan Tutte with Arizona Opera; the title role in Lucia di Lammermoor with Gold Coast Opera; Violetta in La Traviata with New Jersey's Bohème Opera Company; the title role in Susannah with Opera North; Mimi in La Bohème with Asheville Lyric Opera and the Wildwood Festival of Music and the Arts; Marguérite in Faust with Mississippi Opera; Juliette in Roméo et Juliette with Shreveport Opera; Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro with Connecticut Opera and Abilene Opera; Musetta in La Bohème with Indianapolis Opera; Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro, Pamina in The Magic Flute, Despina in Cosí fan Tutte, and Anne Edgerman in A Little Night Music with the Wildwood Festival of Music and the Arts; Marie in the North American premiere of Gurlitt's Wozzeck with California's Long Beach Opera; Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance with Mobile Opera; and Julie Jordan in Carousel with Opera Illinois.
Concert highlights have included Mozart's Mass in C Minor with the Detroit Oratorio Society; Darius Milhaud's Chanson De Ronsard with Cincinnati's College-Conservatory of Music Concert Orchestra; Carmina Burana with the Elmhurst Symphony; and A Night at the Opera with the Colorado Symphony.
Helen Todd received her operatic training as a young artist with the Pittsburgh Opera Center at Duquesne where she performed the roles of Adina in L'Elisir d'Amore and Serviglia in La Clemenza di Tito. She received her Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance at DePaul University, and her Master of Music in Voice Performance at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music under the tutelage of the Patricia Berlin; performance highlights in Cincinnati included Cunegonde in Candide.
Numerous awards have included first place in the Houston Opera Studio Eleanor McCullom Auditions, first place in the Corbett / Treigle Opera Scholarship Competition, and first place in the Bel Canto Competition. Ms. Todd was a regional winner of the Metropolitan Opera Competition and a winner of the Liederkranz Foundation Awards in New York City.
Performance Schedule
| Role | Opera | Opera Company |
|---|---|---|
| Turandot | Turandot | DuPage Opera Theatre, Jan. 29 & 30, 2010 |
| Nedda | Pagliacci | Sugar Creek Symphony & Song, August 2009 |
| Helen welcomes her second daughter, Julianna Faith, April 2008. | ||
| Violetta | La Traviata | Sugar Creek Symphony & Song, August 2007 |
| Soprano Soloist | Beethoven's 9th Symphony | Springfield Symphony, May 5, 2007 |
| Soprano Soloist | Elijah | Kent State University, April 22, 2007 |
| Rosalinda | Die Fledermaus | Kent State University, March 2007 |
| Soprano Soloist | Carmina Burana | Peoria Symphony, November 2006 |
| Soprano Soloist | Verdi & Mozart Opera Favorites | Sugar Creek Symphony & Song, Summer 2006 |
| Helen becomes a mother with the arrival of Isabella Rose, August 2005! | ||
| Madame Mao | Nixon in China | Minnesota Opera, Spring 2005 |
| Aunt Lydia | The Handmaid’s Tale | Canadian Opera Company, Fall 2004 |
| Rosina | Il Barbiere di Siviglia | Athena Grand Opera, Winter 2004 |
| Juliette | Romeo et Juliette | Sugar Creek Symphony & Song, Summer 2004 |
| Aunt Lydia | The Handmaid’s Tale | Minnesota Opera |
| Wanda | The Grand Duchesse | Ok Mozart Festival |
| Violetta | La Traviata | Minnesota Opera |
| Asheville Lyric Opera | ||
| Boheme Opera | ||
| Queen of the Night | Die Zauberflöte | Cleveland Opera |
| New York City Opera | ||
| Minnesota Opera | ||
| Arizona Opera | ||
| Tulsa Opera | ||
| Nevada Opera | ||
| Colorado Opera Festival | ||
| Opera North | ||
| Gilda | Rigoletto | Calgary Opera |
| Cedar Rapids Opera | ||
| Annapolis Opera | ||
| Curley's Wife | Of Mice and Men | Arizona Opera |
| Cleveland Opera | ||
| Susanna | Le nozze di Figaro | Connecticut Opera |
| Abilene Opera | ||
| Wildwood Park | ||
| Mimi | La Bohème | Sugar Creek Symphony & Song |
| Asheville Lyric Opera | ||
| Wildwood Park | ||
| Lucia | Lucia di Lammermoor | Opera Illinois |
| Gold Coast Opera | ||
| Fiorella | Il Turco in Italia | Cleveland Opera |
| Fiordiligi | Cosi fan tutte | Arizona Opera |
| Juliette | Romeo et Juilette | Shreveport Opera |
| Susannah | Susannah | Opera North |
| Marguerite | Faust | Mississippi North |
| Marie | Wozzeck by Gurlitt | Long Beach North |
| Clorinda | Cenerentola | Ok Mozart Festival |
| Pirates of Penzance | Susannah | Mobile Opera |
| Pamina | The Magic Flute | Wildwood Park |
| Despina | Cosi fan tutte | Wildwood Park |
| Alexandra | Regina | Baltimore Opera |
| Anne Edgarrman | A Little Night Music | Wildwood Park |
| Musetta | La Bohème | Indianapolis Opera |
| Julie | Carousel | Opera Illinois |
| Soprano Soloist I | Mozart’s C Minor Mass | Detroit Oratorio Society |