Praised for her ‘pure, lustrous voice’ and ‘Lucille Ball-like energy,’ soprano Sarah Callinan has performed a wide variety of operatic and musical theatre roles in theatres across the U.S. Some favorites include Despina (Cosi Fan Tutte) with Opera Carolina, Blondchen (Die Entführung aus dem Serail) with Arizona Opera, Frasquita (Carmen) with both Michigan Opera Theater and Opera New Jersey, Rosina (Il Barbiere di Siviglia) and the title role in La Fille du Régiment with Connecticut Concert Opera, Gilda (Rigoletto) and Amina (La Sonnambula) with Salt Marsh Opera, Norina (Don Pasquale) and Valencienne (The Merry Widow) with Cape Cod Opera. She sang the role of Blondie in the “Star Trek” production of The Abduction from the Seraglio, appeared with Abilene Opera in the role of Veronique for the Texas premiere of Thomas Pasatieri’s The Hotel Casablanca, sang the role of Marianne in The New Moon and Helen de Vazquez in Victor Herbert’s Orange Blossoms with Light Opera of New York. A recording of Orange Blossoms was released in 2015 on the Albany Records label. 

Most recently, Ms. Callinan sang Violetta in La Traviata and Rosina in The Barber of Seville with Opera Theater of Connecticut and debuted the role of Doria/Young Woman in the world premiere of Giacomo’s Muse with Barn Opera. She performed with Opera Theater of Connecticut at the Sanibel Music Festival for a concert performance of Andrew Lloyd Webber: Superstar of Song and Stage and Lerner & Loewe: Masters of Glamour and Romance and will return to Sanibel for a concert performance featuring the music of Gilbert & Sullivan. She performed in a special New Year’s Eve presentation of Strauss’ Die Fledermaus with VOX New England and joined the Massachusetts Symphony Orchestra for their Holiday Concert and their Magically Mozart Concert in the Park series. In 2024 she sang the soprano solos for the Dvorak Te Deum with the Farmington Valley Symphony Orchestra and The Hope of Loving with the Trinity Episcopal Choir in Hartford. She performed the one-woman micro-opera The Purple Frog by Tony Solitro at the Longy School of Music in Boston. She joined Opera Theater of Connecticut for Celebrating Sondheim, presented by the George Flynn Classical Concert series.  She also joined the roster of singers performing with Opera on Tap Boston. 

Other noted engagements include Adele (Die Fledermaus) with Mississippi Opera and Salt Marsh Opera; Mabel (Pirates of Penzance) with Festival South and Mercury Opera Rochester; Queen of the Night (The Magic Flute) with Salt Marsh Opera and the Boston Lyric Opera Tour; Susanna (Le Nozze di Figaro) with Mississippi Opera; the title role in Lakmé and Monica/Girl (The Medium/Trouble in Tahiti)with Connecticut Concert Opera and multiple performances with the former Connecticut Opera including Frasquita in Carmen, Gianetta in L’Elisir d’Amore, Elvira in L’Italiana in Algeri, Nella in Gianni Schicchi, Despina in Così Fan Tutte, Blondchen in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, and Zerlina in Don Giovanni.

Among her many concert performances, she has performed as soprano soloist in the Verdi Requiemwith The Chorus of Westerly and Capella Cantorum; Haydn’s Creationwith Capella Cantorum, Handel’s Messiah with Music Worcester, Samson, Carmina Burana, and Rutter’s Mass of the Children with the Falmouth Chorale; Mozart’s Coronation Mass and Vesperae Solennes de Confessore as well as Faure’s Requiem with the Farmington Valley Chorale, and has appeared in several concert events with the Hartford Symphony and Worcester Youth Symphony Orchestra. 

In addition to her operatic engagements, Ms. Callinan has also performed with Dan Gabel and The Abletones, an 18-piece Big Band, and The High Society Orchestra, a 1920s hot jazz orchestra. In 2019, she was honored to sing with The Abletones for Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker’s second inaugural, and she was featured on their recent Christmas album, By the Fireside. From 2017-2022, Ms. Callinan was also the leader of the Moon Maids, a vintage vocal group originally founded in 1945 and performed with Vaughn Monroe and his orchestra.

Ms. Callinan made her first international appearance after winning the Jenny Lind Competition, which included a recital tour in Sweden. She is a 2009 and 2010 Metropolitan Opera National Council Audition Regional Finalist and was also awarded first prize in the Connecticut Opera Guild Competition, first prize winner and winner of the “Most Promising Coloratura” award in the Amici Competition with Opera Theater of Connecticut, a finalist in the Bel Canto Vocal Scholarship Competition, finalist in the Mezzo Opera Competition in Szeged, Hungary, won second prize at the Peter Elvins Vocal Competition, and was a quarterfinalist in the 2019 American Traditions Vocal Competition in Savannah, Georgia.

Ms. Callinan, a native of Worcester, MA, attended the Hartt School of Music, graduated Magna cum laude from the University of Connecticut with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Music and a Performer’s Certificate in Voice. 

When she isn’t performing, Sarah is a highly sought-after voice teacher. She maintains studios at Mount Holyoke College, Worcester State University, The Hanover Conservatory, the Joy of Music Program, and the Vocal Intensive Program in Hartford, CT. She is passionate about our national parks and enjoys road trips and hiking with her dog, Finch.