Othalie Graham (born 1973) is a Canadian dramatic soprano, whose operatic roles to date include the title roles of Puccini's Turandot, Verdi's Aida, Strauss' Elektra and Leonora in Verdi's Il trovatore as well as a role in Tosca and the role of Odabella in Attila. She is a protégé of the legendary soprano Lois McDonall and began her professional opera career in October 2004.
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Othalie Graham was born in 1973 in Brampton, Ontario, Canada.[1] Her father, a Jamaican born Canadian, instilled in Graham a strong identification with Jamaican music and culture.[1] When Graham was young, her father sparked her interest in opera by taking her to see a Leontyne Price recital.[1] Her passion in opera grew while attending high school at the Etobicoke School of the Arts. While in Canada, Graham was awarded first place in the Jeunes Ambassadeurs Lyriques Competition and received the coveted Jean Chalmers prize in the Canadian Music Competition.[2]
In 1989, she started college as a biology major.[3]
In 2000, she began attending Philadelphia's prestigious Academy of Vocal Arts, or AVA.[4] At AVA, she studied under Bill Schuman and continues to study with Schuman.[1] In 2002, Graham won the Opera at Florham voice competition.[5] In 2003, Graham won the Liederkranz Society's annual competition and made her New York City recital debut with that choral society.[6] She was also the New Jersey district winner of the 2003 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and a finalist in the 2003 Palm Beach Opera Competition.[2] In 2004, Graham spent the summer training under the widely admired Italian opera singer Renata Scotto at the Renata Scotto Opera Academy at the Music Conservatory of Westchester.[2][4]
Graham started her professional career in October 2004 in the title role of Puccini's Turandot at OperaDelaware,[3] a roll in which she repeated at the Utah Festival Opera.[7] Her performance was well received, with one reviewer writing she "has a huge, powerful voice that fills the auditorium and navigates the musical difficulties beautifully"[8] another writing, "a statuesque soprano with both power and sweetness in a disciplined voice."[9]
In 2005, she was awarded the prestigious Sullivan Foundation Grant.[2]
In 2006, her performance in the production of "Turandot" at the Sacramento Opera was identified as the single reason that its success was never in question.[10] In July 2006, Graham added title role of Floria Tosca in Giacomo Puccini's opera Tosca.[4]
In 2007, Graham added the role of Odabella in Attila as part of her Sarasota Opera debut, where she "blasted Young-Bok Kim's Attila off his throne" with "a big wagnerian voice."[11]
On September 25, 2007, Her performance of "Aida" at El Paso Opera House was amazing having critic Paul Westman saying "At the end of the scene I was blown out of my seat by the loudest E flat that I have ever heard in my life! The interesting thing is that the note did not "sound HIGH" to my ear as it usually does at end of a cabaletta. It was huge and cut through the opera house like a laser beam!".[12]
In the summer of 2009, Othalie wowed the audiences in her familiar Turandot role while appearing in Festival Opera's production in Walnut Creek,CA.