thumbnail image
  • Make Your Own
  • SCHEDULE
  • Make Your Own
  • MEDIA
  • Make Your Own
  • ABOUT
  • ENTREPRENUERSHIP AND ADVOCACY
  • PODCASTS
  • PHOTOS
  • PHOTOS
  • PHOTOS
  • CONTACT
  • SOCIAL MEDIA
  • …  
    • Make Your Own
    • SCHEDULE
    • Make Your Own
    • MEDIA
    • Make Your Own
    • ABOUT
    • ENTREPRENUERSHIP AND ADVOCACY
    • PODCASTS
    • PHOTOS
    • PHOTOS
    • PHOTOS
    • CONTACT
    • SOCIAL MEDIA
    • Make Your Own
    • SCHEDULE
    • Make Your Own
    • MEDIA
    • Make Your Own
    • ABOUT
    • ENTREPRENUERSHIP AND ADVOCACY
    • PODCASTS
    • PHOTOS
    • PHOTOS
    • PHOTOS
    • CONTACT
    • SOCIAL MEDIA
    • …  
      • Make Your Own
      • SCHEDULE
      • Make Your Own
      • MEDIA
      • Make Your Own
      • ABOUT
      • ENTREPRENUERSHIP AND ADVOCACY
      • PODCASTS
      • PHOTOS
      • PHOTOS
      • PHOTOS
      • CONTACT
      • SOCIAL MEDIA
      • Make Your Own
      • SCHEDULE
      • Make Your Own
      • MEDIA
      • Make Your Own
      • ABOUT
      • ENTREPRENUERSHIP AND ADVOCACY
      • PODCASTS
      • PHOTOS
      • PHOTOS
      • PHOTOS
      • CONTACT
      • SOCIAL MEDIA
        • Schedule

          Past Engagements

          Nedda in Pagliacci

          Ruggero Leoncavallo

          2019 (semi-staged)

          Conductor: Steven White

          Die erste Dienerin in Die ägyptische Helena

          Richard Strauss

          2019 (concert)

          Conductor: Gil Rose

          Helen  in Howard's End America (World Premiere)

          Composed by Allen Shearer on a libretto by Claudia Stevens

          2019

          Conductor: Mary Chun

          Director: Philip Lowery

          Lauretta inGianni Schicchi and Buoso’s Ghost 

          Giacomo Puccini and Michael Ching

          2018

          Conductor: Michael Ching

          Director: A. Scott Parry

          Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi and Buoso’s Ghost

          Giacomo Puccini and Michael Ching

          2018

          Conductor: Michael Ching

          Director: A. Scott Parry

        • “...alluring...piercing beauty.”

          -San Francisco Chronicle 

          "...clarion-voiced"

          -San Francisco Examiner

           

        • Media

        • “Her high notes rang out with ease at the swelling climaxes in both her first act aria and in her love duet with Silvio.”

          - Roanoke Times

          "Dynamic and expressive, Duchovnay sang with warmth and luster...she moved with elan, thus matching her vocal vibrancy”

          - OperaWire

        • About

          An opera lover for as long as she can remember, soprano Sara Duchovnay was introduced to the art form by her grandfather who would read her opera stories from the CD jackets as they listened to his favorite recordings. He loved Verdi, and when Sara learned that she would soon have a younger sibling, she suggested that they name the baby Aïda for a girl, or Rigoletto for a boy. Opera was a special thing that Sara and her grandfather shared. He took her to see her first Met production, and was filled with pride when she began studying and decided to pursue a career in opera.

           

          Sara received a Bachelor of Music from the Hartt School of Music and a Master of Music from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and began performing mainstage roles soon after graduation. Early in her career, notable credits included Zerlina in Don Giovanni with Opera Santa Barbara; Nanetta in Falstaff and Stella in A Streetcar Named Desire with Opera San Jose; Jemmy in Guillaume Tell and Blondchen in Die Entführung aus dem Serail with the Southern Illinois Music Festival; and Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro with Pacific Opera Project. These roles provided valuable experience that continues to inform her performances today. Through these roles, Sara learned active stagecraft, character work, comedic timing, and how to work with her colleagues as part of a cohesive ensemble. However, as she grew older and came into herself as a woman and as a singer, these roles no longer fit her and her voice. She began studying with soprano and master teacher Julia Faulkner who helped her develop her true voice in fuller repertoire.

           

          A defining turning point in Sara’s life and career came when she discovered a vital connection that had been missing before, and found how her soul truly connects to the operatic repertoire. She realized that her artistic calling was to bring dimension to the characters in her new repertoire and authentically tell their stories by drawing on obstacles she had overcome in her own life. Sara became an educational facilitator and ambassador with the One Love Foundation, a non profit that teaches young people about healthy vs. unhealthy relationship behaviors in an effort to end relationship abuse, and when she sang her first Nedda in Pagliacci in 2019, it presented the perfect opportunity to combine her passions. Sara spearheaded her own educational initiative and worked closely with One Love Foundation and Opera Roanoke to tailor the One Love curriculum for opera outreach. She worked with students at three local High Schools during the week prior to the rehearsal period, and introduced them to opera in a way that had very real and powerful connections to their own lives. Roles in Sara's repertoire now include Rusalka (Rusalka), Leonora (Il trovatore), Alcina (Alcina), and Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni), as well as Nedda (Pagliacci), Susannah (Susannah), and Anna Bolena (Anna Bolena). She feels compelled to tell the stories of these complex women in a way that honors their struggles and helps the audience process their own lives and the world around them.

           

          Sara feels fortunate to lead a very happy life filled with many passions! In 2018, she founded Songbird Sara Jewelry, a jewelry company specializing in vintage and antique diamonds and other fine gems. While traveling for performances and traveling alongside her husband (tenor, Clay Hilley), she is able to source the most beautiful one of a kind pieces for her clients from all over the world. Sara loves travel and adventure, and from 2017-2021, she and Clay lived in a large 5th-wheel camper and dragged their home with them to contracts all over the US. During that time, they crossed the United States three complete times! They love animals, and when the pandemic limited their usual travel, they worked with an animal shelter in Georgia and fostered 7 different pitbulls in their camper while they waited to be adopted by their forever families. Sara and Clay now happily reside in Berlin.

           

           

        • Sara is a multi-passionate artist...

          Fine Jewelry and Entrepreneurship

          Fine jewelry and entrepreneurship play a significant role in Sara's life and artistic brand. She is the Founder/CEO of Songbird Sara Jewelry, an online boutique which specializes in antique and vintage diamonds and other fine estate jewelry. The two sides of her career and personal brand work together in perfect harmony. The constant travel of the opera lifestyle allows her to make valuable connections within the jewelry industry and enables her to source jewels from all over the world. Her jewelry clients enjoy a behind the scenes peek into the life of an opera singer while having access to exceptional, one of a kind, thoughtfully curated heirloom pieces. Sara has been absolutely obsessed with antique fine jewelry since she was in her teens, and is honored to add her name to a long list of jewelry obsessed divas. Maria Callas's exquisite (and expensive) taste in fine gems was well known and well documented, and Dame Nellie Melba was such an important client of Cartier, that whenever she gave concerts at Covent Garden, a designated associate from the Cartier London office would deliver jewels directly to her dressing room. She insisted that the cold platinum and diamonds could not touch her skin before going on stage, so her designated jewelry courier would wear all of the jewelry himself so he could deliver them to the diva at the perfect body temperature.

          Visit songbirdsaraantiquejewelry.com

          Advocacy and Education

          Sara is an ambassador and educational facilitator with the One Love Foundation, a nonprofit organization that teaches teens and young adults about healthy vs. unhealthy relationship behaviors in an effort to combat relationship violence and abuse. While singing the role of Nedda in Pagliacci in 2019, she started an educational initiative to combine this work with opera outreach and worked closely with Opera Roanoke and One Love Foundation to tailor the One Love curriculum. Sara worked with over 100 high school students throughout the Roanoke area in the week before rehearsals began, and she looks forward to continuing this important work as she continues to portray characters who are victims of partner violence and relationship abuse.

          Visit JoinOneLove.org
        • Podcasts

          Sara is in high demand as a podcast guest and is called upon to speak as an expert on many different types of podcasts. Topics range from antique jewelry to entrepreneurship to healthy vs. unhealthy relationships and her work with One Love Foundation, and of course to her life as an opera singer. Podcast guesting provides the perfect medium to demonstrate how all of her passions combine! Sara is proud to be an ambassador for opera as an art form and loves having the opportunity to reach a wide audience through other common interests and shared experiences! These podcast opportunities have proved to be a wonderful way to introduce new audiences to opera in a personal and compelling way.

           

          Click on the images below to listen to some of Sara's favorite episodes
        • Photos

        • Contact

          Submit
          DOWNLOAD CV
        • Follow Sara on Instagram

          @songbirdsarajewelry is a fun mix of jewelry, opera, travel, and day in the life updates

        Promotional Photos by Maggie Dunn and Davista Photography © Sara Duchovnay 2021

          Cookie Use
          We use cookies to ensure a smooth browsing experience. By continuing we assume you accept the use of cookies.
          Learn More