A native of St. Paul Minnesota, soprano Sara Gartland earned raves as Marie in Des Moines Metro Opera’s production of Wozzeck. Mark Thomas Ketterson with Opera News Magazine exclaimed, “The poignant Marie of Sara Gartland was something of a revelation. Gartland delivered the character through a gleaming column of sound that remained incisive yet consistently beautiful throughout the range up to the top C.”

Engagements for last season included Micaëla in Carmen and Musetta in La bohème with The Dallas Opera, Violetta in La Traviata with Arizona Opera, and Marie in Wozzeck with Des Moines Metro Opera. The 2019-2020 season sees her as the cover of Rusalka with Canadian Opera Company, Gretel in Hansel and Gretel with San Diego Opera, Beethoven’s Mass in C Major with the Jacksonville Symphony, a role and company debut as Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni with Minnesota Opera, and a return to her home house in Des Moines as Lisa in The Queen of Spades.

A lover of opera and operetta as well as contemporary works, Ms. Gartland has sung a plethora of roles displaying her talent for dramatic storytelling and comedy.

She has also developed close working relationships with some of the best regional opera houses in the country. Performances include the title roles of Rusalka and Jenufa, Juliette in Roméo et Juliette, and Alexandra in Regina with Des Moines Metro Opera, Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus, Violetta in La Traviata, Curley’s Wife in Of Mice and Men, and Alexandra in Regina with Utah Opera, Rusalka in Rusalka and Josephine in HMS Pinafore with Arizona Opera, Marzelline in Fidelio with Opera Omaha, Gretel in Hansel and Gretel with Opera San Jose, Adina in L’elisir d’amore with Austin Lyric Opera, Adalgisa (cover) in Norma and Zenna Briggs (cover) in Michel van der Aa’s 3D opera Sunken Garden with The Dallas Opera, and Norina in Don Pasquale with Opera Iowa.

As a member of the prestigious Adler Fellow Program at San Francisco Opera, Ms. Gartland sang numerous roles including performances of Micaëla in Carmen, Pat/Ann in the world premiere of Christopher Theofandis’ Heart of a Soldier, Gerhilde in Die Walküre, Kate Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, and covered Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro while also singing Barbarina, which was her San Francisco Opera main stage debut. As a Merolini with the Merola Opera Program, Ms. Gartland sang Suzel in Pietro Mascagni’s L’amico Fritz.