Named “Debut Artist of the Year” by the Joy in Singing Foundation, Abi Levis has established herself among respected singers of her generation. Critics the world over have described her artistry as “fearless”, “dazzling”, “impressive, and “breathtaking”. Ms. Levis’ passion for vocal music has been continuously nurtured throughout her life – singing Irish folk music with her father and Patsy Cline tunes at county fairs with her mentor, Tom Dyhrberg in her native state of Maine. She began classical training at the age of 15 and, after reading Opera for Dummies, became an ardent fan of classical vocal repertoire.
As a professional singer, Ms. Levis has appeared as a soloist with the Los Angeles Opera, Dallas Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, the American Symphony Orchestra, Toronto Symphony, Utah Opera, Brooklyn Art Song Society, Portland Baroque, Opera Parallele, Philharmonia Baroque, Ars Lyrica Houston, and the Handel and Haydn Society. She is also a prize winner of several competitions, with nods from the Metropolitan Opera National Council, the Gerda Lissner Foundation, the William C. Byrd Foundation, the Wilhelm Stenhammer competition, the William Sullivan Foundation, the Classical Singer competition, the Oratorio
Society of New York, the Klaudia Taev competition, and Operalia.
Ms. Levis is a core member of the acclaimed art song group “Mirror Visions Ensemble” and has had the great pleasure of performing numerous world premieres by American Composers. She recently released her first album “Songs of Dominick Argento” with celebrated pianist, Peter Walsh.
Ms. Levis enjoys singing in a variety of musical styles from Baroque to contemporary music, from opera to musical theater. Passionate about new music, Ms. Levis has worked closely with composers such as Griffen Candey, John Harbison, John Musto, Elena Langer, Tamzin Elliot, and Brian Suits. Favorite roles in opera or musical theater have included ingénues (Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Dorabella in Cosi fan tutte, Cinderella in Into the Woods, Nancy in Albert Herring), maids and aging divas who are anything but ingénues (Petra in A Little Night Music, Despina in Cosi fan tutte, Ottavia in L’Incoronazione di Poppea, and Métella in La vie Parisienne), lovelorn young men (L’Enfant in L’Enfant et les Sortileges, Romeo in I Capuleti ei Montecchi and Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro), a chatterbox who interrupts her constant prattling only to sip hot chocolate (La Conversation in Charpentier’s Les plaisirs de Versailles), and, Purcell’s doomed queen, Dido.
Abi holds degrees from the Eastman School of Music, the Moores School of Music at the University of Houston, and from the Vocal Arts program at the Bard College Conservatory. She resides in Massachusetts with her beloved dog, Carl and moonlights as a local bar tender and fair-weather Red Sox fan. Her hobbies include knitting, reading, walking, cooking, and True Crime. For more information, visit www.abilevis.com and follow her on Instagram @tessitourist!