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Recent reviews describe her singing as possessing a “richness and elegance…attuned to every harmonic and emotional nuance” (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel), her stage persona as “passionate in the extreme” (Pioneer Press) and her voice as “warm and luscious” (Springfield News-leader).
This season Kathy made her debut with the St. Petersburg Opera Company as Adina in L’elisir d’amore where the St. Petersburg Times raved “Pyeatt was luminous in voice and presence.” She will be returning to the company in June to portray Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni. She will also be returning to the Rockford Symphony Orchestra as a soloist in the Bruckner and Dvorak Te Deums and to the Bach Chamber Choir & Orchestra in Milwaukee as a soloist in the Bach Cantata 140: Wachet Auf. In 2008-09 Ms. Pyeatt will debut with Impresario Productions and the Fox Valley Symphony as Micaela in Carmen, return to the Florentine Opera Company as the First Lady in a new production of The Magic Flute, to the Rockford Symphony Orchestra as the soloist in Poulenc’s Gloria and Canteloube’s Chants d’Auvergne and to the Southwest Florida Symphony for Handel's Messiah.
The 2006-07 season included returns to the Skylight Opera Theatre as the Mother in Hansel and Gretel and the Florentine as Dama di Lady Macbeth in Macbeth. She also appeared with the Rockford Symphony Orchestra in Beethoven’s Egmont, the Central Wisconsin Symphony in Verdi’s Requiem, the Festival City Symphony in Mahler’s Fourth Symphony, the Menomonee Falls Symphony in Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 and as the soprano soloist for the US Premier of Jenkin’s The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace, and was a featured soloist for Gathering on the Green and Festa Italiana.
One of her more exciting moments was the opportunity to work with world renown composer William Bolcom on his new opera, Idiot's Delight, co-commissioned by the New York City Opera, Florentine Opera Company and Prince Music Theatre of Philadelphia. Ms. Pyeatt premiered selected works from the opera with Mr. Bolcolm at the piano at the Pabst Theatre in Milwaukee.
Kathy has appeared with regional opera companies throughout North America, including The Florentine Opera, Skylight Opera Theatre, St. Petersburg Opera, Natchez Opera Festival, Opera Company of North Carolina, Light Opera Works, Springfield Regional Opera, Opera Theatre North, DuPage Opera Theatre, Chicago City Opera, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, The Muddy River Opera, Pamiro Opera, First Stage Milwaukee, and The Milwaukee Opera. Favorite past roles include, Violetta (La Traviata), Constanza (The Abduction from the Seraglio), Micaela (Carmen), Fiordiligi (Cosi Fan Tutte), Hanna (The Merry Widow), Ilona (Gypsy Love), The Queen of the Night and The First Lady (The Magic Flute), Sybil Vane (The Picture of Dorian Gray), and Adina (The Elixir of Love).
Ms. Pyeatt's many concert and recital performances include appearances in Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin. Her wide ranging repertoire includes performances of Mozart's Exsultate, jubilate with the Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra, Samuel Barber's Knoxville: Summer of 1915 with the Festival City Symphony, Verdi's Requiem with the SMSU Symphony, Villa-Lobos Bachianas Brasilieras #5 with the Manitowoc Symphony, Poulenc's Gloria with the Bel Canto Chorus and also the Kenosha Symphony, Beethoven's 9th Symphony with the Bel Canto Chorus, Mozart’s Requiem with the Fond du Lac Oratorio Society, Mendelssohn's Elijah with the University Heights Choir and Orchestra, Bach's B minor Mass with the Bach Chamber Orchestra and Racine Symphony, and Handel's Messiah with the Southwest Florida Symphony, Waukesha Choral Union and Menomonee Falls Symphony.
A successful crossover artist, Kathy's regional theatre credits include Alma in The Christmas Schooner, Sharon in Master Class, Mrs. Nordstrom in A Little Night Music, Laurie in Oklahoma, Hope in Anything Goes, Grace in Annie, Antonia in The Man from La Mancha, The Maid in the American premier of The Nightingale, and the leading female role in the world premiere of Broadway Romance.
Ms. Pyeatt has been a top prize winner in numerous competitions, including the District and Regional levels of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, the MacAllister Awards and the National Association of Teachers of Singing. When Kathy is not on stage singing you can usually find her backstage. She is currently serving as Director for the Wisconsin District Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and is on the Board of Directors for SOS, Supporters of Opera Singers, Inc., a nonprofit arts organization aimed at promoting and supporting young opera singers. Kathy’s latest adventure took her to North Carolina to serve as an Education Consultant for the Opera Company of North Carolina in the development of their Educational Outreach and Young Artist Program.
A native of Wisconsin, Kathy lives in Fredonia along with her husband, Dan Kerkman, 5 year-old daughter Emma, and her two chocolate labs, Hershey and Nestle. |
