Kristin Darragh is a New Zealand born contralto, her voice described by Opernglas as one
of ‘breathtakingly beautiful depth and formidable penetrating power.’ Performances this season have included her return to the New Zealand Opera stage as Marcellina in Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro, directed by Lindy Hume and conducted by Zoe Zeniodi. She also created the role of Fatima in the workshop performance of Michael Williams’ new opera, Prayer for Broken Shelter.
At home on the concert platform, Kristin is a regular soloist with New Zealand’s orchestras; recent performances include the Alto soloist in Beethoven’s 9th Symphony and The Messiah with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, APO at the Opera with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra and Beethoven’s Mass in C with The Christchurch Symphony Orchestra. This season Kristin looks forward to performing the Brahms Alto Rhapsody with Orchestra Wellington, the Mozart Requiem with Opus orchestra and recording a new song cycle for Contralto written by Michael Williams.
Kristin was a full time principle ensemble member at Theater Lüneburg, Germany, where her roles included Olga (Eugene Onegin), Orlofsky (Die Fledermaus), Suzuki (Madame
Butterfly), Cornelia (Giulio Cesare), Maddalena (Rigoletto), Charlotte (Werther), Alice (Lucia di Lammermoor), Dritte Dame (Die Zauberflöte) and Sally Bowles (Cabaret.)
Since her New Zealand Opera debut at the age of 23 as Fyodor in New Zealand Opera’s production of Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov, Kristin has returned home to sing the roles of Siebel (Faust), Olga (Eugene Onegin), Amastre (Xerses), Maddalena (Rigoletto), Suzuki (Madame Butterfly) Third Lady (Magic Flute) and Mercedes ( Carmen.) Other operatic experience includes Erda (Das Rheingold) and La Zia Principessa (Suor Angelica) for LidalNorth Opera Oslo, Grimgerde (Die Walküre) with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Sesto (La Clemenza di Tito) Cherubino (Marriage of Figaro), Baba The Turk (The Rake’s Progress), Stewardess (Flight), Florence Pike (Albert Herring), Zita (Gianni Schicchi) and the title role in Britten’s Rape of Lucretia.
Kristin trained at the Royal Academy of Music in London and has a Masters degree in Performance Voice. Her awards have included the Tower AIMES award for outstanding achievement in Music and the Circle100 Scholarship. Kristin now teaches voice and assists in the training of New Zealand’s young singers. She has designed and facilitated workshops in Breath Work for Singers and Presence in Performance for the New Zealand Opera Studio Artist Programme. In 2021 she joined the teaching faculty at The University of Waikato as a Performance Fellow and she also works a professional voice actor.
