As first prize winner of the Concert Artists Guild competition, my Carnegie Hall debut recital with pianist Brent Funderburk (“Witches, Bitches and Women in Britches") was toured around the United States. Other recital performances include the Met Live Arts Series ("Bird in a Gilded Cage"), New York's Neue Galerie cabaret series ("FRAU", "The Cheater's Almanac"), and Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart Festival with the New York Festival of Song ("Lyrics by Shakespeare.")
"a natural in the recital format, winning over the audience with her rich, silvery voice and charming stage presence."
Performances on the theater stage include Terrence McNally's play Master Class with Tyne Daly on the West End, off-Broadway performances with the Irish Repertory Theatre, and the world premiere of a new translation of Beamarchais' Figaro Plays by Stephen Wadsworth at the McCarter Theater in Princeton.
Operatic work ranges from such lyric mezzo roles as Poppea (Oper Frankfurt), Cherubino (Atlanta Opera, Welsh National Opera), Mélisande (Cincinnati Symphony), Judith (Boston Lyric Opera), Hansel (Kentucky Opera), and La Périchole (Garsington Opera), to new operas such as Figaro Gets A Divorce (Welsh National Opera, Grand Théâtre de Genève) and Least Like The Other: Searching for Rosemary Kennedy (Irish National Opera).
Creating roles in new operas, premiering new song cycles, or being involved in the collaborative process of something altogether different like Ellen Reid’s musical playground installation (ONE Festival, Omaha) is another big part of my career. Artist residencies where I engage with a community in a wide range of performances and outreach activities are times when the direct impact of music on people is most visible to me.
The best thing about this profession is that I never stop learning—whether it’s expanding repertoire, diving into Shakespeare and physical theater for a summer, giving pre-schoolers their very first taste of opera singing, or running for a taxi to take me from the theater to a late night cabaret venue on a double performance day. I count myself lucky to encounter the most glorious stories along the way.
Following the critically acclaimed world premiere at New York's Prototype Festival and performances at LA Opera, Emma O'Halloran's monodrama 'Mary Motorhead' will make its European premiere this season alongside TRADE with Irish National Opera at the Kilkenny Arts Festival. The operas will complete a national tour of Irish theatres in October.
In the spring, I'll be returning to LA Opera reprising a role in Mary Kouyoumdjian and Royce Vavrek's opera ADORATION, based on the movie by Atom Egoyan. The production is directed by Laine Rettmer.
Writing projects currently include an opera libretto in development with composer Emma O'Halloran, as well as a cabaret show featuring the music of Friedrich Hollaender. My writing projects are supported by the Arts Council of Ireland and Culture Moves Europe.
“O’Connell’s performance was in every respect outstanding. Her acting was intelligently formed, emotionally honest and so finely detailed that she managed to capture even the smallest facial gesture, or movement which elevated her portrayal to the highest level"
