Karen Saillant, Soprano, made her European operatic debut as Giulia in "La Scala di Seta" under the direction of Eugenio Bagnoli of Teatro Fenice, Venice. Her "titian beauty and lovely melodic line" (Manchester Guardian) and "brilliant and beautifully controlled bel canto" (Opera News) soon won her standing ovations at Teatro dei Differenti (Barga), Teatro Romano (Fiesole) and Teatro del Giglio (Lucca). Under the baton of Maestro Bruno Rigacci, La Nazione, (Florence) wrote: "the enthusiasm reached its height with the ovation given Karen Saillant. The singers, artistic staff, the orchestra and the audience rose to give her wild applause".
The German-American newspaper, Staats Herold, has called her interpretations of German lieder, "exquisite" while critics up and down the east coast have praised her "thrilling dramatic temperament" (The Chautauquan, N.Y.) and "wide arching parabolas of technically thrilling singing" as the heroines of "La Boheme", "Pagliacci", "Il Tabarro", "Faust" and "Cavalleria Rusticana".
Miss Saillant’s renown as an actress as well as a classical singer inspired The Smithsonian Institute in Washington to commission her to develop an original show, "Playing the Palace", to inaugurate their Portraits in American Song series.
Thus began her foray into historical research. This culminated in the development of "Soiree a Montmartre", which premiered at the gala Lautrec opening of The Museum of Modern Art in New York and eventually highlighted her return to the Smithsonian, where she performed "Soiree a Montmartre" to celebrate the Smithsonian’s acquisition of the Degas portrait of Mary Cassatt. Miss Saillant also starred in "The Lady and Lautrec" with TV personality and Broadway star, Brent Collins at the Zimmerli Museum in New Brunswick during their Circle Lautrec Exhibition.
Winner of numerous grants, including a Philadelphia Foundation Grant and a Presser Foundation Grant, Miss Saillant has been commissioned by The Philadelphia Orchestra, Sun Oil Corporation, Rohrer Group International, Dupont Corporation and Settlement Music School to develop and perform historical reviews for their gala anniversary celebrations. Miss Saillant was invited by Vargas Pharmaceutical Corporation to do likewise in Caracas, Venezuela.
Karen Saillant
Miss Saillant has starred in performances at over 50 different theaters and universities throughout the United States, and has appeared in concert at The Detroit Museum of Art, The Gibbes Art Gallery in South Carolina, The Darien Arts Society, and The Stamford Arts Center, Connecticut (opening celebration). Her proficiency in foreign language, she sings in eight, has lead her to be cast as Halka in the Polish opera, "Halka", by Moniuszko. She was also chosen to represent the United States in the International Opera Competition in Sofia, Bulgaria.
In addition to her career as a performer, Miss Saillant has worked extensively with children and adults as a voice teacher, choral director and stage director. She has compiled and directed original musicals, headed voice departments of local conservatories, taught symposiums at colleges, including Goucher College Summer Program for the High School Creative and Gifted and The University of Pennsylvania.
She has been presenting operatic productions under the mantle of The Philadelphia Opera Theater since 1982.
In 2004, as Artistic Director of The International Opera Theater, Miss Saillant began producing operatic works in Citta della Pieve, Italy in the beautiful Teatro Avvaloranti. In 2005, Miss Saillant directed and co-wrote the libretto for "Il Racconto D’Inverno", an operatic adaptation of Shakespeare’s "The Winter’s Tale", music by Troy Herion. In 2006, she directed Troy Herion's adaptation of "The Tempest" ("La Tempesta"). Most recently Miss Saillant directed Pietro Rigacci's operatic adaptation of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" ("Il sogno di una notte di mezza estate") which premiered in Teatro Avvaloranti, and opened the theater season in Teatro Mancinelli, Orvieto, Italy.
Scholarship recipient at Indiana University and Temple University, where she received her Bachelor of Music degree, Miss Saillant did graduate work in Italy at L’Accademia Chigianna, and L’Universita degli Studi, Siena, and L’Universita Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome. She received her Masters of Music degree from Combs College of Music, the alma mater of Vincent Persichetti.
Her performances have been broadcast worldwide over Voice of America.
