Hailed for her "purity of sound" by the Arizona Republic, soprano Marnie Breckenridge's musical and dramatic talents have rapidly established her as a rising young American artist. She has won praise for her warm, "richly controlled and lovely voice throughout her vocal registers" (San Mateo County Times), as well as her "accomplished dramatic" characterizations (Metro News) and "assured comic presence" (Contra Costa Times). Appearing as Cunegonde in Candide with Festival Opera this past summer, the San Francisco Chronicle declared Breckenridge "the leading light on stage," deploying "her sparkling soprano to create an evolving character." Other 2005 performances, such as her debut in the title role of Lucia di Lammermoor with both West Bay Opera in February and Indianapolis Opera in May, were equally acclaimed. The Oakland Tribune described her as holding the audience in thrall, "her long cadenza with the flute in the stratosphere of her exquisite voice was simply dazzling." In 2006 she will make her European opera debut with Prague State Opera as Cunegonde in Candide. During the 2003-2004 season, Ms. Breckenridge appeared with San Francisco Opera as Papagena in Die Zauberflöte and Inez in Il Trovatore. She also returned to Arizona Opera as Yum-Yum in The Mikado, following her impressive debut as Gretel in Hansel and Gretel during the 2003 season. Other appearances that season included the role of Corilla Sartinecchi in Donizetti's Viva La Mamma with West Bay Opera, Juliette in Roméo et Juliette with Sacramento Opera, and Gilda in Rigoletto with Festival Opera. Ms. Breckenridge made her Latin-American debut during the 2002-2003 season as Auretta in Mozart's L'Oca del Cairo with the Brazilian Opera Society in Sao Paulo, and returned there in late 2005 as Susan in Lennox Berkeley's A Dinner Engagement. She also appeared as Olga in San Francisco Opera's The Merry Widow, seen on PBS' Great Performances and BBC Television and subsequently released on DVD. Additional roles include the title role in The Ballad of Baby Doe and Zerlina (Don Giovanni) with North Bay Opera, Musetta (La Bohème) with Nevada Opera, and Adina (L'Elisir d'Amore) with Intermountain Opera. The soprano is well-versed in contemporary American works, such as Barber's Knoxville: Summer of 1915, and her upcoming engagements in 2006 include appearances with Seattle's Black Box Opera in two works by Ned Rorem, Three Sisters Who Are Not Sisters and Bertha. She has also performed a number of new works in recital with composer Jake Heggie, is recording art songs by composer Martin Hennessey, and in April 2006 will appear as Nelle in the world premiere of Chrysalis by Clark Suprynowicz with Berkeley Opera. In September 2005, Ms. Breckenridge was invited to appear with the Moscow Chamber Orchestra in Mozart's Exsultate, Jubilate. She made her San Francisco Davies Symphony Hall debut singing the soprano solos in Handel's Messiah under Michael Barrett. Additional concert credits include Mozart's Requiem, Villa Lobos' Bachianas Brazilieras No. 5, Cantaloube's Chants d'Avergne, Bach's Magnificat and St. Matthew Passion, and Haydn's The Creation. Ms. Breckenridge will be heard with baritone Dimitri Hvorostovsky on a new CD entitled Arias, to be released by Delos Records in early 2006. The recording, with the Russian Philharmonia Orchestra, was conducted by Constantine Orbelian. A winner of numerous prestigious competitions, Ms. Breckenridge was a 2004 national grand finalist in the Loren L. Zachary Competition, a regional finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and a MacAllister Awards regional finalist in 1999. She holds a Bachelor's Degree from Pacific Union College, a Master of Music Degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and was a participant in the Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Artist Program during 2001.