Mallory Harding

Mallory Harding, mezzo-soprano, most recently played the role of Zita in Gianni Schicchi with both New Moon Opera and Sinfonietta Bel Canto in the spring of 2019. A company member and the artistic director of New Moon Opera, Mallory has performed such roles as Armelinde (Cendrillon, Viardot), Croûte-au-Pot (Mesdames de la Halle, Offenbach), Dinah (Trouble in Tahiti), and Hansel (Hansel and Gretel) since founding the group in 2014. She performed with Evanston Chamber Opera in the world premiere of Joseph's Gift by Francis Lynch as Alto Narrator and was hailed as "simply fantastic" (Aaron Hunt, Chicago Theatre Review). Mallory frequently performs with Vox 3 Collective and has sung the roles of Line and Agathe in the Chicago premiere of Carl Nielsen's Maskerade, in addition to appearing in Vox 3 cabarets and recitals all over the city of Chicago. She also is the alto section leader and a cantor at St. Joseph and Francis Xavier in Wilmette. Mallory is thrilled to work with Haymarket Opera for the first time, understudying the role of Mauxalinda. Other roles this fall include Vera Boronel in Transgressive Theatre-Opera’s concert performance of Menotti’s The Consul to benefit immigrant relief. Mallory is a proud student of Winifred Faix Brown.

Don’t miss Mallory in Acis and Galatea  - Get your tickets now! 

Q&A with Mallory Harding

Q: What are you performing? 

MH: I am singing the alto (tenor 1) part in the ensemble. The ensemble in this opera functions somewhat as a Greek chorus would. We set the tone at the beginning of the opera, we warn Acis and Galatea of the monster Polypheme, we mourn with Galatea when Acis is killed and we celebrate when the pair is reunited.

Q: What do you love about the opera?

MH: I love that the music is so descriptive of the characters and the scenes of the opera. Galatea's music is graceful and limpid, while Polypheme's music is aggressive and bombastic. A lot of times the music makes me want to dance!

Q: Is there something about your character or this opera that modern audiences can relate to?

MH: If anyone has seen the Disney movie Hercules, I think the ensemble of Acis and Galatea functions a lot like the Muses in that movie.

Q: Favorite aria/chorus from the piece?

MH: My favorite chorus from the piece is "Wretched Lovers." It begins with a fugue-like declaration by each voice, warning of something bad to come. Halfway through the chorus, each voice begins declaring "Behold the monster Polypheme" with much faster rhythmic motion. In the last third of the chorus, the ensemble describes the monster's "ample strides" and how "the waves run frightened" with some fun melismas on the word "frightened."

Q: What is it like to prepare for film? Are you ready for your close-up? 

MH: Facial expressions will be important for filming because the audience will be able to see our faces much closer up than when performing on a stage. I've been practicing a lot!

Q: These operas center around a theme of forced transformation. How has the pandemic forced you to change? Have there been any silver linings?

MH: The pandemic has forced me to teach my weekly piano and voice students online instead of in person, which has a lot of built in challenges. One difficult thing is that since there is a small time delay when working over video conferencing software, I am unable to accompany my students as they sing. However, one great thing is that this has helped/forced my voice students to learn to accurately sing a cappella.

Personally, since I am at home a lot more and have more free time with many of my performing jobs being cancelled, I have been exercising a ton and learning some new skills like weight lifting!

Q: On the topic of rep from the Age of Enlightenment, do you have a dream role? Is there an opera you wish audiences could hear? Do you love Handel? If you could steal any role from another voice type what would it be?

MH: I think my dream role from the Age of Enlightenment would be Cesare in Handel's Giulio Cesare (Julius Cesar). I do love Handel and whenever I sing his music it feels so good in my voice, like a massage. If I could steal any role from another voice type, I would want to play Polypheme in Acis and Galatea! I haven't gotten to play many villains and never a monster, and I love all the angry, long coloratura runs Polypheme gets to sing.

Q: As it’s Haymarket’s 10th anniversary, do you have a favorite Haymarket memory?

MH: My favorite Haymarket memory is from the Dragon of Wantley when I got to sing choruses from the pit. It was glorious to be surrounded by all these amazing musicians and be immersed in their sound.