Laura Twelves
Laura Twelves, Director and Soprano
A graduate of San José State University and a native
Californian, Laura Twelves began performing with the
Opera San José during the 2003-2004 season. Laura
was invited back for the 2004-2005 season which
debuted in Opera San José's new home, the newly
renovated California Theatre, with Le Nozze di
Figaro. Ms. Twelves performed in the Bridesmaid
Duet, her first solo appearance with Opera San José.
In the fall of 2005, Laura took the stage in her
professional operatic debut as Abigail Williams in
Opera San Jose’s premiere production of Robert
Ward’s The Crucible. Her performance garnered
critical acclaim for her performance…"In the
tradition of the irresistible “bad girls” of
mainline European opera-Thais, Manon, Salome-we had
a marvelous young spinto soprano doing the devious
seductress Abigail, Laura Twelves.”-artssf.com
Despite her “bad girl” tendencies, Laura enjoys
invoking her instinctive comedic and playful
personas in the lighter side of the opera world.
With a flair for comic timing and a love for
laughter, Laura enjoys performing with Lyric Theatre
of San Jose, formerly the Gilbert & Sullivan
Society. Her favorite roles with this company have
been Yum Yum in The Mikado, one of Gilbert &
Sullivan's most popular pieces as well as the
production of Oscar Straus' The Chocolate Soldier
in which she played the lead role of Raina
Petkoff, an idealistic young woman who possesses a
high-minded and intellectual approach to love. Most
recently, Laura explored her masculine side for the
portrayal of Prince Orlovsky, a young Russian whose
love for mischief rivals his passion for the young
ladies of society, in Richard Strauss’ Die
Fledermaus.
In 2006, Laura made her Rimrock Opera (RO) debut as
Suzuki in Madame Butterfly. Since that time,
Miss Twelves has moved permanently to Billings and
is the Director of RO's Met to Broadway and directs
two groups of Rimrock Opera for Kids, and is
Coordinator of RO's school tour The Night Harry
Stopped Smoking. Laura has performed Ginger in
that production in Montana, Wyoming, and California,
over 125 performances. After joining the cast of
RO's Opera Stars this past summer, Laura opened a
private voice studio in Billings and is the vocal
coach for RO's Girl of the Golden West.
In addition to performing in the realm of opera,
Laura enjoys singing in concerts across the Bay
Area. She will be playing the role of Elletra in
Mozart’s Idomeneo, in a concert production
with California Chamber Opera in January 2007. Laura
has also performed as a soloist with numerous choral
groups including the award-winning San Jose State
Choraliers, performing such works as Mozart’s
Requiem, Schubert’s Mass in G, Vivaldi’s
Magnificat, and Charpentier’s Te Deum. In
March of 2008, Miss Twelves will make her Billings
Symphony & Chorale debut in their Broadway Pops
Concert.
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