Praised for her “strongly centered, richly textured soprano” by New York Magazine and her “poignant soprano” for her moving portrayals by the New York Times, the Marian Anderson Award-winning soprano, Indira Mahajan is in demand by leading opera companies and orchestras worldwide. One of the most celebrated interpreters of the role of Bess, audiences on five continents have enjoyed her more than 120 appearances in Porgy and Bess. In the United States, she has performed the role from coast to coast. She premiered the role in Francesca Zambello’s production at the Washington National Opera, Dallas Opera, Los Angeles Opera and joined the roster of the Lyric Opera of Chicago.

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Opera News wrote of her recent performance with Fort Worth Opera, “the incandescent Indira Mahajan as Bess performed an unforgettable performance. Mahajan’s experience shows, not only in her detailed acting, but also in the exquisite way she shapes her vocal lines. It is a wonderful instrument with a sexy throbbing lower register and a thrilling top.” The Tageblatt, wrote of her performance at the Grand Théâtre in Luxembourg, “Thanks to her virtuosity in the soaring, vibrant, distinctively striking timbre, Indira Mahajan was absolutely radiant as a graceful, seductive but also vulnerable Bess.”

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The Internationally acclaimed soprano has also appeared in Gershwin’s masterpiece at the Opéra Comique in Paris, Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, Grand Théâtre de Geneva, Semper Oper Dresden, Hannover Oper as well as in the major capital cities of Amsterdam, Munich, Rome, São Paulo, Russia and Tokyo, among others.  Operatic Highlights include, the title roles in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly and Sour Angelica, the roles of Musetta and Mimi in La Bohème, the title role of Aida, Violetta in La Traviata, Gilda in Rigoletto, Nedda in Pagliacci the title role of Lucia di Lammermoor, Sandrina in La Finta Giardinera, Susanna in the Marriage of Figaro and Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni. Indira Mahajan made her United Kingdom debut singing the role of Mimi in Francesca Zambello’s production of La Bohème at the Royal Albert Hall in London, Virgil Thompson’s Four Saints in Three Acts, Joplin’s Treemonisha as well as being responsible for Janáček’s Cunning Little Vixen and Gluck’s Iphigénie en Tauride. Miss Mahajan was awarded the New York City Opera Debut Artist of the year and Dallas Opera’s Maria Callas Debut Artist Award.

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Indira Mahajan’s orchestral repertoire extends from works in the Baroque and Classical genres to the foremost composers of today. She has recorded the oratorio August 4, 1964 conducted by Jaap Van Zweden with the Dallas Symphony with performances at the Meyerson Symphony Hall in Dallas and at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Miss Mahajan’s orchestral highlights include performances of Beethoven’s Symphony no. 9 with both Gustavo Dudamel’s Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra in Caracas and with the Korean Broadcast Symphony Orchestra at the United Nations, as well as Beethoven’s Mass in C with the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Costa Rica. Miss Mahajan has also performed with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi, l’Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia Roma, Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, the Iceland Symphony Orchestra and the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra. New York audiences have enjoyed her performances with the New York Philharmonic, as soloist at Carnegie Hall, Geffen Hall and has also performed a benefit recital for Classical Action: Performing Arts Against Aids. Other concert performances include Bach’s B minor Mass (BWV 232) and the Magnificat (BWV 243), the Brahms and Fauré Requiems, Mozart’s “Coronation” Mass in C (K.317) and Exsultate, jubilate (K. 165), as well as Orff’s Carmina Burana.

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A frequent guest artist with orchestras across America, she has performed Handel’s Messiah with the Baltimore Symphony, Harbison’s The Flight into Egypt, and Previn’s Honey and Rue which she then programmed as part of her debut recital at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.  The soprano has been seen on PBS “Live from Lincoln Center” in Benjamin Britten’s opera, Paul Bunyan, Iowa Public Television in Madama Butterfly and as a soloist at The Richard Tucker Gala at Lincoln Center in New York City.  Audiences have heard her performances of Madama Butterfly, Aida, I Pagliacci, La Bohème and Porgy and Bess broadcast live on Classical Public Radio as well as National Public Radio.

 

Indira Mahajan was born in New York City and began her musical studies at the age of 5 as a violinist. She holds a Master of Music degree from Mannes College of Music, a Bachelor’s degree from Oberlin College and a diploma from the Accademia Musicale Ottorino Respighi.