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Charlae Olaker
Soprano
Charlae Olaker, a native of Chicago, Illinois , is the recipient of numerous scholarships, prizes and awards, including First Prize in the Y.W.C.A. Annual Vocal Competition (New York) and as sole vocal winner of the Artist's International Competition, under whose auspices was presented in her New York recital debut at Carnegie Recital Hall.
In 1984 Ms. Olaker toured with the controversial and avantgarde composer Philip Glass in his Ensemble as sole vocalist and keyboard player in The Photographer. Later in the same year she appeared in the Philip Glass/Robert Wilson multimedia work Einstein on the Beach at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. The televised documentary featuring this production aired the following year.
During the 1989-90 season Giancarlo del Monaco cast her in the title role of his production of Lucia di Lammermoor following which she appeared in the lead roles of new productions of Entführung aus dem Serail, Cosi fan Tutti and Wagner's Das Rheingold in Germany and Prague.
In September 1991, Ms. Olaker debuted with the Orchestre Symphonique de Quebec in Mozart's Entführung. During the preceding month, she made her debut with Pittsburgh's Civic Light Opera, portraying the title role in Gershwin's Porgy and Bess. She has also been acclaimed for her performances of the roles of Clara and Bess at the Spoleto Festival in Austrailia, and the Goetz Friedrich production in Berlin.
Ms. Olakers's debut with the New York Grand Opera in the 1992-93 season came in performances of La Boheme and Gianni Schicchi in an "Evening of Puccini", with the reknowned Martina Arroyo as Mistress of Ceremonies. Later in the season were European solo recitals and performances of Verdi's Requiem in Mexico City's Insituto Nacional de Bellas Artes.
The 1993-95 seasons found Ms. Olaker on tour in Europe and the United States with the Houston Grand Opera in the title role of Porgy and Bess. In addition were performances in Hungary as Gilda in Verdi's Rigoletto, with Opera Bonn in a world premiere work, Carl Orff's Carmina Burana and a live broadcast with the Danish Radio in Copenhagen. The 1995-96 season was rounded out at the Basel Opera as Queen of the Night in Mozart's Magic Flute.
Ms. Olakers' first performances with American Voices were in 1998 during the Gershwin Centennial program. She has since toured with American Voices in Russia, Malta, United Kingdom, Germany and Luxembourg.
Press Quotes:
"Olaker's opulently sung 'Bess' mixes earthiness and glamour, and manages to show the doubt beneath the character's veneer of sensuality"
The Chicago Star-Tribune
"Sopranos who can sing so high with such supreme confidence as in the "dolcissimo", and fill it with warmth and soul, are rare."
The Dortmunder Zeitung, Dortmund, Germany
Programs Offered:
Porgy and Bess
Variations on America
First Programs in Egypt
