Dramatic Soprano, Meryl Sher, possesses a voice of wide range, versatility and dramatic intensity. Miss Sher graduated Oberlin College and received her early musical training at The Juilliard School of Music Pre-College Division where she was awarded a scholarship for her musical excellence. Prior to her passing, Miss Leonie Rysanek heard Miss Sher sing and her comment was, “My dear, you have a voice we hear seldom in a lifetime – You have the fach of Birgit Nilsson.” James McCracken, the internationally-renowned tenor heard her Santuzza and asked the director, “What are your plans for this artist? She has a major talent.” 

Most recently, Miss Sher performed and produced a livestreamed concert entitled, “Heroes, Villains & Lovers” with arias and scenes from Tosca, Die Tote Stadt, Gotterdammerung, Tannhauser, Siegfried and more as well as show tunes. Prior to that, she staged, produced and sang the lead of Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana as well as an opera concert in 2022 with arias and duets, “Passionate Voices Celebrating Opera.”  Miss Sher performed in a charity concert at St. Bart’s Church for “Be An Angel” raising over $20,000 for physically-challenged children. She made her professional debut as Violetta in La Traviata at the International Opera Festival in Acapulco, Mexico. She performed the first act duet from Tosca in a Master Class with Placido Domingo in Pittsburgh and was a recipient of a grant from the Wagner Society. She also won the New York City 92nd Street Y Concerto Competition. 

In her early years, Miss Sher performed the leading roles of Mimi, Fiordiligi, Micaela and Countess, among others. As her voice matured, she added more dramatic roles to her repertoire. She sang her first Brünnhilde in Die Walküre at the Liederkranz, Leonore in Fidelio with Westside Opera, Aida with Amato Opera and with Igor Chicagov, Tosca with Regina Opera and Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana with New Britain and New Rochelle Opera companies. She was invited to sing the Verdi Requiem with New Rochelle Chorale followed by Beethoven’s “Ah, perfido!” and the “Immolation Scene” from Die Götterdämmerung with the New York Symphonic Arts Ensemble. Subsequently, she performed Brünnhilde in Die Walküre with The Valkyrie Project and Abigaille in Verdi’s Nabucco with Operesque Classical Concerts after her successes as Leonora in Il Trovatore and the lead role of Senza Bliss in A.F.R.A.I.D. by Susan Stoderl. 

Meryl thought she would never sing opera again after a number of years where an illness prevented her from following her passion. At 68, she is grateful to be back and thrilled to be singing some of her favorite repertoire!