An Illustrious Career Spanning Decades
With a triumphant career spanning over a decade as a soloist at the Metropolitan Opera, Atlanta born mezzo-soprano Brenda Boozer is equally at home on the concert and recital stage as in the opera house. She has been internationally praised by critics such as The Houston Chronicle and Richmond Times-Dispatch as being “gorgeous to see and equally stunning to hear,” and possessing “a voice with range, depth, and fire to be one of the really great singers of our day.” The San Francisco Chronicle said of Brenda, “Singing with a commanding sense of beauty and joy, her vocal future would seem to be unlimited.”
Ms. Boozer has performed leading mezzo-soprano roles with many of the world’s most prestigious opera companies including the Paris Opera, Covent Garden, Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, Frankfurt Opera, Netherlands Opera, Teatro de Santiago (Chile), Teatro Comunale in Florence, Italy, Houston Grand Opera, and Santa Fe Opera. She has sung with great conductors Carlo Maria Giulini, with whom she recorded Meg Page in the Grammy nominated Deutsche Grammophon recording of Verdi’s Falstaff, James Levine, Seiji Ozawa, Erich Leinsdorf, and Ricardo Chailly. Maestro Erich Leinsdorf prepared and coached her Count Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier for the Metropolitan Opera. The noted French baritone, Martial Singher, taught her the role of Carmen, which she has performed internationally.
A critically noted concert singer, she has appeared as soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, National Symphony, Saint Louis Symphony, and has participated in numerous festivals including Edinburgh, Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart, Spoleto Italy and U.S.A., Wolf Trap, Carmel Bach, Santa Fe, and the Hollywood Bowl.
Critically Acclaimed Productions
Her Metropolitan Opera roles include Count Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier, the composer in Ariadne auf Naxos, Niclausse in Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Olga in Eugene Onegin, Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus, Suzuki in Madama Butterfly, Cornelia in Giulio Cesare, Meg Page in Falstaff, and Hansel in Hansel und Gretel, in which she made her debut. Other critically acclaimed roles include the title role in Carmen, Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Cinderella in La Cenerentola, Sextus in La Clemenza di Tito at San Francisco Opera, Farnance, in the Aix-en-Province production of Mitridate in Nice, Lyon, Orleans and Dulcinea in the Netherlands Opera production of Don Quichotte, and Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier.
Ms. Boozer is equally at home in musical theater. Her extensive training in dance at an early age allowed her to become a student of the legendary Martha Graham in NY. As an accomplished actress, she studied at the Actor’s Studio in NY with Uta Hagan’s husband, acclaimed actor, director and coach, Herbert Berghof. She made her Broadway debut in Coco with Katherine Hepburn, with whom she coached for 6 months. Her theatrical roles have included Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady, Aldonza in Man of La Mancha, Domina in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Lily in The Secret Garden, and the Mother Superior in The Sound of Music in Summer Stock productions.
Working with the Greats
Brenda Boozer performed leading mezzo-soprano roles for over a decade at the Metropolitan Opera company, as well as many of the world’s most prestigious opera companies throughout Europe, North and South America.
She joined Actor’s Equity at 16 years old and performed in Summer Stock theaters.
She studied dance with the legendary Martha Graham, and acting with Herbert Berghof, head of the Actor’s Studio, and privately with Katherine Hepburn.
She made her Broadway debut in Coco with Katherine Hepburn, with whom she coached for 6 months. She has appeared with Lees Mcrae Summer Theater, and portrayed Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady, Aldonza in Man of La Mancha, Domina in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and Lily in The Secret Garden.
Brenda received her B.A. in Music and B.S. in Dance from FSU, and Professional Studies Program Degree from the Juilliard School.
30 Years Experience in Yoga
Brenda Boozer began her physical training as a dancer at the age of 5. She studied ballet and modern dance for 30 years and was a student of the famed Martha Graham in New York City. She became a student of yoga in 1990 and has studied yoga extensively for 31 years.
She has had yoga instruction from the Kripalu Center for Yoga in Lenox, Mass, at Jivamukti Yoga Center in New York, and Siddha Yoga Ashram for 14 years. She was a student in the tradition of Sri B.K.S Iyengar. She was also a student of Kundalini Yoga with Gurmukh. In addition, she has studied Astanga, and Hatha Yoga. In 2003, Brenda received her certification in Hatha Yoga from Katonah Yoga in New York. In 2006, Ms. Boozer completed a yoga intensive at the Omega Institute in New York, studying with world-renowned teachers that included Gurmukh, Shiva Rea, Sally Kempton (one of the nation’s foremost meditation teachers) and Sharon Gannon, co-founder and co-director of the famed Jivamukti Yoga Center.
She has two yoga training certificates; one 200 hour training certificate from Katonah Yoga in New York with Nevine Michaan. In 2009, Ms. Boozer received her Kundalini Teacher Training Certification, and completed 200 hours of training from Golden Bridge Yoga Center in NY with the famed international teacher Gurmukh. She incorporates her extensive training in yoga for all her vocal students and in her masterclasses at universities.
Ms. Boozer has also practiced the Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique since 2010, and she is a devoted student of TM started by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. She practices TM meditation daily.
She made her international career as a Mezzo-soprano soloist at the Metropolitan Opera, and other national and international opera companies. She was a finalist in the famed National Metropolitan Opera Competition in New York, which helped to launch her career. Her experience as a professional opera singer has led her to specialize in alignment and breath work which has led to successful training of singers, musicians, actors and actresses. She has taught at the famed Juilliard School of Music in New York, where she was a student, and the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Personal Life and Background
Together with her husband, composer, conductor, organist, and pianist, Ford Lallerstedt, she has performed over 150 recitals to standing ovations in concert halls, theaters, and universities, throughout the United States. As a television personality, she was a frequent guest on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, Late Night with David Letterman, and ABC-TV’s Wide World of Entertainment.
Brenda received her Bachelor of Arts in music, and Bachelor of Science degrees from Florida State University. She completed graduate work in the Professional Studies Program at the Juilliard School, and was a finalist in the coveted Metropolitan Opera National Auditions in NY, which launched her operatic career.