LaToya Lain - Soprano

Applauded for her "wonderfully rich," "powerful," and "captivating" voice, American singer LaToya Lain, a native of New Orleans, Louisiana, is a member of the voice faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as well as the Metropolitan Opera Chorus.

Equally at home in the teaching studio and on the performance stage, LaToya continues to perform solo recitals, oratorio, and opera worldwide. She was recently a member of the GRAMMY Award-winning cast of Porgy and Bess at The Metropolitan Opera in New York City and last season, she returned to The Met for performances in Terrance Blanchard’s jazz opera Fire Shut Up in My Bones, Wagner’s Die Meistersinger, Mahler’s 2nd Symphony, and Verdi’s Requiem. 

Ms. Lain’s operatic roles include “Clarissa Davis” in Sanctuary Road, “Brünnhilde” in Die Walküre, “Countess Almaviva” in Le Nozze di Figaro, the title role in Carmen, “Suzuki” in Madame Butterfly, “Polinesso” in Ariodante, “La Principessa” in Suor Angelica, “Baba” in The Medium, and “Ježibaba” in Rusalka.

Dr. Lain’s research also includes the intensive study and performance practice of Negro Spirituals. She has performed her lecture recital “Narrative of a Slave Woman: Songs of Hope, Justice, and Freedom” on concert stages and at universities throughout the world. Consequently, she was one of 57 voice professors and singers invited to author a short chapter in The Voice Teacher’s Cookbook: Creative Recipes for Teachers of Singing.

Recent and upcoming engagements include Mahler’s Symphony #4 and Wagner’s Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde with the Worthington Chamber Orchestra in Ohio, “Amahl and the Night Visitors” with the New York Opera Society and the Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle, and “Sanctuary Road” with Penn Square Music Festival in Lancaster.