Recently lauded for her performance of the title role in The Gypsy Princess with Seattle Gilbert and Sullivan Second Stage, the Seattle P-I wrote that her performance “shone” and “[she] used her expressive face and body to convey multiple emotions”. 
Signe Mortensen has quickly made her vocal and theatrical mark in the Pacific Northwest region and beyond. She has had the privilege of working with such opera companies and symphonies as Tri-Cities Opera, The John Duffy Composer’s Institute, Skagit Opera, Seattle Opera Guild, Bellevue Opera, Music of Remembrance, Off-Center Opera, Northwest Opera in the Schools, Seattle Gilbert and Sullivan Society, Northwest Savoyards, and Hans Wolf Community Outreach.  Signe will debut with the Tacoma Opera in fall of 2008.

Equally comfortable on the opera, operetta and musical theatre stage, Signe has  performed the roles of Anna in Seven Deadly Sins, Musetta in La Boheme , Pamina in Magic Flute, Micaela in Carmen, Mrs. Gorbineau in The Medium, Ann Page in Merry Wives of Windsor, Adele in Die Fledermaus, Yum-Yum in Mikado, Gianetta in Gondoliers, Saffi in Gypsy Baron, Perichole in La Perichole, Gretel in Hansel and Gretel, Maria in West Side Story, Sarah Brown in Guys and Dolls and Buffy in the West Coast Premiere of John Duffy’s opera Black Water with Off-Center Opera in Seattle.

Ms. Mortensen finds a special draw towards performing new works and has premiered new compositions throughout the country. She recently performed at the John Duffy New Composer’s Institute in Virginia under the direction of Rhoda Levine.  Her performance was described by Portfolio Weekly as “scathingly funny and superbly sung”…”with faultless diction and clever acting [Mortensen] conveyed every emotional nuance of the music.”

Signe has been featured as a concert soloist in Knoxville: Summer of 1915 with the Rain City Symphony and performed with the Cascade Music Festival in Bend, Oregon under the baton of maestro Murray Sidlin. Other performances as soloist include Brahms' Requiem, Handel's Messiah, and the Saint-Saens' Christmas Oratorio. A passionate recitalist, Signe has organized numerous performances in Washington, Oregon and New York. She co-founded Opera Rescue, a non-profit organization created to benefit charities across the Pacific Northwest.

Ms. Mortensen was honored as a regional finalist by the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in 2004 and given an incentive award in 2003. Other awards include the Alan Lund Scholarship in 2003 and the Tri-Cities Opera Guild awards in 2001 and 2002.  She was a Resident Artist of the Tri-Cities Opera in Binghamton, NY for 4 years and received her Masters from Harpur College in association with the program.

Recent performances include Sylva Varescu (the title role) in Emmerich Kalman’s The Gypsy Princess with Seattle Gilbert and Sullivan Society, Pamina in Magic Flute with Bellevue Opera, Anna in Seven Deadly Sins with UW Opera Theater, Micaela in Carmen with Skagit Opera, Mimi in La Boheme with the Seattle Opera Previews, and the Cat in Brundibar with Music of Remembrance.  She can next be seen in her debut with Tacoma Opera as Alice in Le Comte Ory in November 2008

Signe recently moved to New York City to pursue her singing career.  Signe studies with Seattle baritone, Erich Parce.

 

SIGNE MORTENSEN, soprano