Samantha Hankey

Praised as “luscious,” “amber-toned,” and “dazzling” by Opera News, American mezzo-soprano Samantha Hankey is quickly establishing a name for herself both at home and abroad. In the 2018/19 season, Samantha will make her Metropolitan Opera debut as Pantalis in Mefistofele, and returns to the Met throughout the year in Adriana Lecouvreur, Carmen, Das Rheingold, Götterdämmerung, and Rigoletto. She will also make her company debut at Opernhaus Zürich as Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro. In addition to these debuts, Samantha will cover the title role in the premiere of Nico Muhly’s Marnie at the Metropolitan Opera.
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Samantha’s 2017/18 engagements included important role debuts as both Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia (Den Norske Opera) and Siébel in Faust (Grand Théâtre de Genève). As a member of San Francisco Opera’s prestigious Merola Opera Program, Samantha sang the role of Angelina in La Cenerentola to enthusiastic critical acclaim, with the SF Gate praising her performance as “dark-hued, confident…formidable.” Equally at home in classic repertoire and new music, Samantha took part in two significant workshops last season: Ricky Ian Gordon’s Intimate Apparel, in association with the Metropolitan Opera and Lincoln Center Theatre, and David Hertzberg’s The Wake World, commissioned for Opera Philadelphia. Samantha enjoys a close collaboration with composer David Hertzberg and was instrumental in developing the title role of his opera The Rose Elf, which was written for her, and which she will premiere in New York at the end of this season.