Synkroniciti is over the moon to welcome operatic mezzo-soprano Abby Powell with a gender-bending music video of O du mein holder Abendstern from Richard Wagner’s Tannhäuser. A luscious performance with an imaginative concept centered around light and a stunning presentation, it was produced by Abby for the “All Fached Up” Competition put on by Opera On Tap here in Houston. We also feature a three-page article condensed from a delightful interview, “Reflected Light: A Conversation with Abby Powell on Opera, COVID-19 and Authenticity.” This is a hopeful look at the return of live performance and a reflection over the events of the past year and three months.
Would you like to see this heartfelt and moving music video? Please subscribe or purchase the issue here: https://synkroniciti.com/the-magazine/.
Mezzo-soprano Abby Powell made her debut in 2000 as Zita in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi (Aspen Opera Theater) conducted by Julius Rudel and subsequently performed Ma Moss in Copland’s The Tender Land with Juilliard Opera Workshop. Roles include Mere Jeanne in Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmelites, Miss Jessel in Britten’s Turn of the Screw and Marcellina in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro. Recently, she premiered Joao MacDowell’s monodrama for mezzo Plastic Flowers, performed the Mother in Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors (St. Catherine Festival Choir) and performed arias of Verdi, Puccini and Ponchielli at The Guggenheim Collection in Venice, Italy. Ms. Powell has received numerous awards including The Rise Stevens Award, G. & M. Grunin Prize for Music and The Aspen Music Festival Voice Competition. A former artist in residence with The Rover Soho in NYC, she performs as a project leader with Sing for Hope and moonlights as a singer/songwriter. Since moving to Houston in 2017, Abby has been a frequent performer with Houston Chamber Choir, River Oaks Chamber Orchestra and Houston Grand Opera.