Theresa Brancaccio

Senior Lecturer, Voice/Vocal Pedagogy

tbrancaccio@northwestern.edu
847-491-4518


Theresa Brancaccio
Background

MMus, Northwestern University

Mezzo-soprano. Theresa Brancaccio has been a member of Northwestern University's Voice/Opera faculty since 1999. Prior to her appointment at Northwestern, she taught voice and vocal pedagogy at DePaul University for eight years.

Ms. Brancaccio's students perform throughout the United States and Europe, in venues including the Lyric Opera Chicago, Santa Fe Opera, The Concertgegbau Orchestra, Opera Theater St. Louis, Pittsburgh Opera, New York City Opera and Dresden Opera, to highlight a few. Her students have been recipients of prestigious awards from the Richard Tucker Foundation, Marilyn Horne Foundation, Neue Stimmen International Competition, Palm Beach Opera and George London Foundation as well as finalists in the District Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.

A respected pedagogue, Ms. Brancaccio is frequently requested to do master classes and workshops on vocal technique for organizations such as Chicago NATS, The Apollo Chorus, Northwest Choral Society, Midwest Young Artists and OpTic (Opera Training Institute of Chicago). She has served as Vice President of the Chicago Singing Teachers Guild.

Ms. Brancaccio's voice was praised by the Chicago Tribune as "cushiony and appealing from top to bottom." She has performed in concert, opera and recital throughout the United States and was a soloist with Chicago's Grant Park Symphony for six consecutive seasons, performing works including Berlioz’s Romeo and Juliette, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, Candide Suite by Leonard Bernstein as well as programs of Rodgers and Hammerstein. She has performed in major works with the St. Louis Bach Society, Sacramento Bach Festival, Northwest Choral Society, Colorado Mahler Festival, Elgin Symphony, The New Oratorio Singers, Apollo Chorus, Evanston's Bach Week, and the North Shore Choral Society. Ms. Brancaccio was soloist in Mendelssohn's Elijah under the direction of John Nelson for Soli Dei Gloria and sang the rarely performed Schumann Requiem and Bruckner Mass in F minor for Chicago Master Singers.

In recital, Ms. Brancaccio has performed works including Schumann's Frauenliebe und  -leben , Schoenberg’s Brettl-lieder, Mahler's Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen and she has sung live broadcasts for WFMT radio. She sang the world premiere of Frank Ferko's Ulysses and the Siren at Pick Staiger Concert Hall at Northwestern University as well as the Midwest premiere of John Rutter's Feel the Spirit, with the Northwest Choral Society. She also performs as featured vocal soloist with the ensemble Cathedral Brass.

On the opera stage, Ms. Brancaccio has appeared as Stephano in Romeo and Juliette, Siebel in Faust, Maddalena in Rigoletto, Fiona in Brigadoon , Hansel  in Hansel and Gretel, Pitti-Sing in The Mikado and both Carmen and Mercedes in Carmen with such ensembles as Central City Opera, Madison Opera, DuPage Opera Theater, Light Opera Works and Chattanooga Opera. Beginning her career as a soprano, Ms. Brancaccio interpreted many roles, including Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro, Micaela in Carmen, Mimi in La Boheme, Zerlina in Don Giovanni, Adina in The Elixer of Love and Yum-Yum in The Mikado. Her orchestral performances as a soprano included Strauss’ Vier letzte Lieder, various cantatas and passions by Bach, and concert works of Beethoven, Brahms and Mozart.