Bio
Mezzo-soprano Lauren Cook continues to garner acclaim for her captivating stage presence, “full bodied" (Indie Opera), and "nuanced voice” (Boston Musical Intelligencer).
In 2023, Cook returned to Arizona Opera to perform Sister Berthe in Francesca Zambello’s The Sound of Music as well as Zweite Dame in Die Zauberflöte. Following, Cook made her company and role debuts performing Ava in Rocking Horse Winner with Opera Maine. She then made her Academy of Music debut stepping in as Ancella in Simon Boccanegra with Opera Philadelphia. While there, she also covered the roles of Nurse/Matron in the World Premiere of Rene Orth’s 10 Days in a Madhouse. Cook closed out 2023 with a return to Virginia Opera for her role debut of Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia, followed by a concert at the University of Pennsylvania.
In 2024, Cook returns to Arizona Opera to debut Berta in Josh Borth's production of Il barbiere di Siviglia, as well as Stéphano in Patricia Racette’s Roméo et Juliette. She will continue the season as a featured soloist with the Philadelphia Ballet in their upcoming production of The Dream. Afterwards, Cook will head to Omaha to perform as a soloist in the recital series It's About Time with Salt Creek Song Festival.
Other notable stage credits include Rosina (Il barbiere di Siviglia), Komponist (Ariadne auf Naxos), Poppea (L’incoronazione di Poppea), Mélisande (Impressions de Pelléas), Cherubino (Le nozze di Figaro), Hannah After (As One), Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Scalia-Ginsburg), Blanche de la Force (Dialogues of the Carmelites), Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro), Wellgunde (Das Rheingold), Tisbe (La Cenerentola), and Antonia (Man of La Mancha).
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Cook was scheduled to sing Edith in Pirates of Penzance and Elder #2 in the NY Premiere of Sky on Swings with Opera Saratoga. Cook has appeared with Opera Philadelphia, Virginia Opera, Arizona Opera, OperaDelaware, Des Moines Metro Opera, Opera Naples, Painted Sky Opera, Opera Iowa, Opera Company of Middlebury, Opera Louisiane, Fresh Squeezed Opera, Guérilla Opera, Odyssey Opera, Seagle Festival, and the Louisiana Opera Outreach Program.
Cook has performed as a soloist with Phoenix Symphony and the Albany Symphony Orchestra, as well as in selected concerts in Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center and Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts. Cook was also a featured soloist in Boston Symphony Hall in a gala hosted by Alan Cumming.
“Mezzo-soprano Lauren Cook, as Ginsburg, has some heavy lifting in her solos, but handles it fluidly and expressively; she even owns Ginsburg's physical mannerisms.”
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As a contemporary repertoire advocate, Cook was recently seen performing Hannah After in the Oklahoma Premiere of Laura Kaminsky’s As One in her company debut with Painted Sky Opera, where she received a Broadway World award for “Best Performer in a Professional Streaming Musical”. Past recording projects include Edwin the Avatar/Eddie in the film version of Frances Pollock’s Earth to Kenzie with Virginia Opera, the workshop and premiere recording of The Leopard (Dellaira) as the role of Angelica with American Opera Projects, the premiere recording of The Wake World (Hertzberg) with Opera Philadelphia, a recording of Haroun and the Sea of Stories (Wuorinen) with Boston Modern Orchestra Projects, and a recording with Opera Philadelphia of Daniel Belquer’s piece Religare Resonare, composed specifically for use with Vibrotextile wearable technology by Music: Not Impossible Labs.
Cook has premiered many works including Molly Joyce’s Our Way of Being Small in the World with Fresh Squeezed Opera, Evan Mack’s Roscoe with Seagle Festival, and The Desert, Lazy Citizen, War is a Racket, and Malice in the Palace, all in collaboration with Guerilla Opera. Prior to the pandemic, Cook was scheduled to perform Elder #2 in the NY Premiere of Lembit Beecher’s Sky on Swings with Opera Saratoga. She has also created many roles in workshops of up-and-coming operas such as LeeAnn in Missy Mazzoli’s The Listeners, with Opera Philadelphia, Aphrodite in a pre-workshop of Permadeath (Visconti) in association with Friends of Madame White Snake, and Sharon in a workshop and performance of Richard Wargo’s Sharon’s Grave with Seagle Festival.