Christina English
Noted for her “rich and mellifluous” voice (Opera News) and “striking”t; presence (The Arts Fuse), mezzo-soprano Christina English enjoys a versatile career encompassing many genres. Her 2024-25 schedule includes the role of Muriel in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels with Moonbox Productions, Handel’s Messiah and Ariodante with the ensemble of Boston Baroque, and Julia Wolfe’s Her Story with Lorelei Ensemble and the National Symphony.
2023-24 appearances included Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Handel’s Messiah, and Mozart’s DonGiovanni with the ensemble of Boston Baroque; Mrs. Allan in Argento’s The Voyage of Edgar Allen Poe with Odyssey Opera; solo performances with Musicians of the Old Post Road, Arcadia Players, Back Bay Chorale, the Boston Cecilia, and Lowell Chamber Orchestra; and Julia Wolfe’s Her Story with Lorelei Ensemble at the Cincinnati May Festival.
She is a long-time member of the Boston Baroque chorus and a founding core member of Lorelei Ensemble. Highlights with Lorelei include Julia Wolfe’s Her Story with the Boston, Chicago, Nashville, and San Francisco Symphonies; the premiere of choreographer Nanine Linning’s La Mer with Boston Ballet; collaborations with GRAMMY-nominated ensembles Cantus and A Far Cry; and appearances at The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Carnegie Hall, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Tanglewood Festival of Contemporary Music.
Favorite opera and musical theater roles include the Pilot in Rachel Portman’s The Little Prince with NEMPAC Opera Project; the Housekeeper in Man of La Mancha with New Repertory Theater; Miss Prism in The Importance of Being Earnest with Odyssey Opera; and the nursing sister in Puccini’s Suor Angelica with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Other theatre and opera appearances include Lyric Stage Company of Boston, Guerilla Opera, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Boston Midsummer Opera, Boston Opera Collaborative, and Intermezzo Opera.
On the concert stage, she has been a soloist with Newburyport Choral Society, Hudson Valley Philharmonic, Rhode Island Philharmonic & Providence Singers, Cambridge Community Chorus, Resonance Works, and Choral Art Society; and has collaborated on chamber music performances with Sheffield Chamber Players, Arneis Quartet, Alea III, Boston New Music Initiative, and Mimesis Ensemble.
As both a performer and an arts administrator, Christina believes that music is a powerful catalyst for community and connection. Offstage, she is Executive Director of Sheffield Chamber Players, an ensemble founded on the belief that experiencing chamber music in the intimate settings for which it was written profoundly changes the way listeners respond to music, and to each other. She is also a member of Beyond Artists, a coalition of artists who donate a percentage of their concert fees to organizations they care about. She supports the Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts and the Environmental Defense Fund through her performances.