Hailey Clark
Hailed by OPERA NEWS for her “warm” and “effortless” soprano and widely recognized for her vibrant interpretations, American lyric soprano Hailey Clark is quickly making her mark in Europe and North America, not only for her shimmering portrayals of Mozart heroines, but also for her versatility in operatic and concert repertoire spanning nearly three centuries. She was the winner of the Österreichischer Musiktheaterpreis (Austrian Music Theater Prize in Opera) in the category of ‘Best Female Leading Role’ for her performance as Alma Beers in Brokeback Mountain (2016) in her European debut at the Salzburger Landestheater.
Since 2019, Hailey Clark has joined the ensemble at the Staatsoper Hannover, where she has performed leading repertoire to great acclaim. In her debut, she starred in Lydia Steier’s new production of La Juive by Halévy, which OPERNWELT called “dazzling” and DAS OPERNGLAS praised for her “big, wonderfully timbered soprano.” She went on to debut the title role of Alcina, for which the HANNOVERSCHE ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG declared: “[Clark] floods the hall with voice and presence; she is a Diva, the likes of which Hannover has not had.” In the 2020/21 season, she performed the roles of Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, Micaëla in a new production of Carmen, and received rave reviews as the soprano soloist in ‘MYTHOS’ orchestral visual concert, featuring artist Tal Rosner and Sibelius’ Op. 3 and Op. 70 Luonnotar. Other roles in her repertoire at the Staatsoper Hannover have included Musetta, Erste Dame, and the Soprano Soloist in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9.
Ms. Clark is currently on maternity leave (2021/22), and made a recent unexpected return to stage as Alma Beers in the Staadttheather Giessen premier of Brokeback Mountain, to critical acclaim. The performance will be released for purchase later this year by the Hessischer Rundfunk. In the 2022/23 season, Hailey Clark returns to Central City Opera to debut the role of Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus, makes a role and company debut in the Dresdner Philharmonie’s presentation of The Ring Cycle as Gerhilde in Wagner’s Die Walküre, as well as returning to her breakout role of La Juive at the Staatsoper Hannover.
The 2018-19 season included debuts with Palm Beach Opera as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni and Austin Opera as Anna Sørensen in Kevin Puts’ Silent Night. She also returned to the Salzburger Landestheater for her signature role of Fiordiligi and the role of Donna Elvira as a part of their Mozart/DaPonte Cycle presentation. Debuts on the concert stage featured the inaugural tour with the Columbia Bel Canto Trio, performances with The Santa Fe Symphony (Messiah), the Music in the Alps Festival (Carmina Burana) and debuts at the Alte Oper Frankfurt and Konzerthaus Dortmund in Elektra with the Hessischer Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester under the baton of acclaimed Andrés Orozco-Estrada.
In the 2017-18 season, she joined Theater Basel for three exciting productions, including Lucio Cinna in a premier of Mozart’s Lucio Silla directed by Hans Neuenfels, Fifth Maid in David Boesch’s Elektra, and Anne Trulove in Lydia Steier’s new production of The Rake’s Progress conducted by Kristiina Poska.
In the 2016-17 season, Ms. Clark made her German debut as Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte at the Stuttgart State Opera and made her debut at Central City Opera in the same role. She returned to the Salzburger Landestheater as Musetta in a new production of La bohème conducted by Mirga Gražinyte-Tyla. She also returned to the North Carolina Opera as Freia in Das Rheingold and Florida Grand Opera as Micaëla in Carmen.
In the 2015-2016 season, Hailey Clark made her European debut at the Salzburger Landestheater in the Austrian premiere of Brokeback Mountain with a newly orchestrated chamber version by composer Charles Wuorinen. Previous seasons included guest appearances at North Carolina Opera for Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Fort Worth Opera as Leïla in Les pêcheurs des perles, and Opera Naples for Norina in Don Pasquale. She was a member of the young artist program at the Florida Grand Opera for her first performances of Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte. In the summer of 2014, Ms. Clark was seen at Santa Fe Opera in a featured scene of the title role of Thaïs and covering Marzelline in a new production of Fidelio under the baton of Harry Bicket.
Ms. Clark is a two-time Regional Finalist of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, a 2015 International Finalist in the Competizione dell’Opera Italian Arias Competition (Linz, Austria), and a grant recipient from the Santa Fe Opera: “Award for Outstanding Apprentice.” She is also a the 2014 First Place Winner of the Heafner-Williams Competition, prize winner of The Charlotte Opera Guild Competition and Shreveport Singer of the Year Competition(s), and completed a five-city Concert Tour of China and Inner Mongolia in 2009 as a winner of the Charles A. Lynam National Vocal Competition.
Clark holds a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Michigan School of Music and a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Maryland School of Music. She is also a proud alumnus of the Freie Universität Berlin’s FU-Best program. Currently the North Carolina native resides in Dresden, Germany with her husband, tenor Joseph Dennis.