Shannon Carson is a Manhattan-based singer who has performed extensively in opera, musical theatre and concerts throughout the country. She most recently performed in the world premier of Steal a Pencil for Me in New York City and in Scarsdale, NY. She also recently shared the stage with Jeff Robinson (aka Varla Jean Merman) in Gian Carlo Menotti’s The Medium which ran Off- Broadway in New York and at The Art House in Provincetown, Massachusetts.
Shannon has performed in more than 40 productions with New York City Opera, where she worked for 15 years. Highlights of her time there include representing the United States in classical music at the World Expo in Japan, performing in Madama Butterfly and Little Women. Another highlight was performing in Séance on A Wet Afternoon, where she had the privilege of working directly with composer and Broadway legend Steven Schwartz (Wicked, Godspell, Pippin) as the show was readied for its New York premiere. Favorite roles at City Opera include Zinnia in L’Etoile, the comic role of The Ballerina in The Glassblowers, Alms Sister in Suor Angelica and Isabel in Pirates of Penzance. She counts Hansel in Hansel and Gretel, Mercedes in Carmen and Dorabella in Cosi fan tutte among other favorite roles performed outside of City Opera.
A trained actor, dancer and clown, Shannon complements her operatic work with musical theater, cabaret and concerts. In her Off-Broadway work with The Illyria Theatre, she created the role of Lucille in the musical Splendora and was selected by Edward Albee to play the second nurse in his play, The Death of Bessie Smith. She also performed for four years off-Broadway and on tour with The New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players. Other musicals and operettas in which Shannon has performed include Sweeney Todd, Candide, Cinderella, The Desert Song, Oklahoma, Patience, Big River, West Side Story, and Li’l Abner. Other venues include Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center, Alice Tully Hall, BAM and Wolf Trap.
Shannon is a graduate of the North Carolina School of the Arts, The William Esper Studio for the Professional Actor and the New York Goofs Clown School.
Shannon has performed in more than 40 productions with New York City Opera, where she worked for 15 years. Highlights of her time there include representing the United States in classical music at the World Expo in Japan, performing in Madama Butterfly and Little Women. Another highlight was performing in Séance on A Wet Afternoon, where she had the privilege of working directly with composer and Broadway legend Steven Schwartz (Wicked, Godspell, Pippin) as the show was readied for its New York premiere. Favorite roles at City Opera include Zinnia in L’Etoile, the comic role of The Ballerina in The Glassblowers, Alms Sister in Suor Angelica and Isabel in Pirates of Penzance. She counts Hansel in Hansel and Gretel, Mercedes in Carmen and Dorabella in Cosi fan tutte among other favorite roles performed outside of City Opera.
A trained actor, dancer and clown, Shannon complements her operatic work with musical theater, cabaret and concerts. In her Off-Broadway work with The Illyria Theatre, she created the role of Lucille in the musical Splendora and was selected by Edward Albee to play the second nurse in his play, The Death of Bessie Smith. She also performed for four years off-Broadway and on tour with The New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players. Other musicals and operettas in which Shannon has performed include Sweeney Todd, Candide, Cinderella, The Desert Song, Oklahoma, Patience, Big River, West Side Story, and Li’l Abner. Other venues include Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center, Alice Tully Hall, BAM and Wolf Trap.
Shannon is a graduate of the North Carolina School of the Arts, The William Esper Studio for the Professional Actor and the New York Goofs Clown School.