Mary McClain, soprano Dramatic soprano Mary McClain, known for her "intensely emotional and overwhelmingly powerful performance of Isolde's Liebestod," has appeared at Alice Tully Hall, Merkin Concert Hall, Steinway Hall, Tenri Cultural Institute, and as featured soloist in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony with Ars Musica, and Benjamin Britten's War Requiem, where she made her debut with the Missoula Symphony. She has also appeared in gala performances with the Westchester Hudson Opera. Ms. McClain has performed the roles of Leonore/Fidelio, Turandot, Ariadne, Aida, Sieglinde, and Ortlinde and she also created the role of Judge Mouth in the premiere of the controversial opera Where's Dick? under the direction of Richard Forman at Houston Grand Opera. Ms. McClain is equally accomplished in performance of the art song. She has performed much of the classical literature, including Wagner, Liszt, Strauss, Wolf, Mahler, Poulenc, Ravel, and songs by the renowned American composers Aaron Copland and Samuel Barber. In addition to her operatic performances, Ms. McClain has appeared in dramatic theater roles as diverse as Ethel Banks in Barefoot in the Park, Woman I in The Language of Rapture, and Ursula in Much Ado About Nothing. Ms. McClain studied at the Academie Musique Maurice Ravel at St. Jean-de-Luz, France and holds degrees from the Manhattan School of Music. She has been awarded top prizes from the Wagner Society of New York, the Queens Opera Competition, the Liederkranz Foundation Vocal Competition specializing in the music of Wagner, the Olga Koussevitsky Competition, and the New Jersey Association of Verismo Opera Competition.