Contralto Kimberly Hann is quickly establishing herself as an exciting and engaging young artist in the opera world. Ms. Hann possesses a strikingly unique instrument and specializes in low mezzo/contralto repertoire. A gifted musician, Kimberly is also passionate about sharing the art of opera both onstage and in her community.

Kimberly grew up in the Virginia suburbs of Washington D.C. and began her musical studies as a violinist. As a promising young instrumentalist, she trained at the prestigious Interlochen Center for the Arts, where she studied violin performance with some of the top musicians in the country. But at 15, she suffered a severe injury to her left arm. She could no longer hold her instrument and was told she may never be able to play again. That's when Kimberly turned her musical passion to singing. She began taking voice lessons and fell in love with opera. Since then, she's been performing nonstop and has incorporated her early instrumentalist training into her vocal artistry.

In 2022, Ms. Hann competed an artistic residency with Quisisana Opera performing the role of Countess Charlotte in Sondheim's A Little Night Music and a series of ten concerts of operatic repertoire. She also made her debut with The Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company as Little Buttercup and covered the role of Mrs. Grose in Opera Baltimore's production of The Turn of the Screw. In 2021 she joined Chicago Opera Theater for their innovative, virtual production of La Hija de Rappaccini. Ms. Hann's previous engagements include the title role in Carmen with The Hawaii Performing Arts Festival, The Old Prioress (Dialogues of the Carmelites), The Secretary (The Consul), and L'Opinion Publique (Orpheus in the Underworld), all with Opera MODO, and Elizabeth Proctor (The Crucible) with Berlin Opera Academy. Other credits include the title role in Händel's Orlando, Bradamante (Alcina), Suzuki (Madama Butterfly), Madame de la Haltière (Cendrillon), The Old Baroness (Vanessa), and Cecilia March (Little Women).  Kimberly has performed as a Young Artist with The Chautauqua Opera Company in productions of Don Giovanni, Candide, and The Bremen Town Musicians. She has also been a Resident Artist with Sarasota Opera, performing in productions of La Traviata, Manon Lescaut, Norma, Carmen, and Tiefland. 

Kimberly is passionate about working with contemporary American composers to bring new works to life. Last season she will premiered excerpts from Razumov by Greg Batholomew, a new chamber opera set in Russia in 1900. Ms. Hann has also worked with composer Jivin Misra on Portrait of a Man, a piece for mezzo and piano that she premiered in recital. Always up for a challenge, Kimberly also presented the first performance of Season by Jihyeong Choi, an atonal four-movement chamber work for alto, clarinet, and percussion in conjunction with the Mannes School of Music. 

Ms. Hann's passion for the arts also extends beyond the stage. She is an avid arts activist and strives to bring the music into local communities. Through The Chautauqua Institution, Kimberly trained as a Teaching Artist to bring her love of music to elementary school students across the Northwestern New York. She prepared and taught classroom lessons about the communicative power of music and performed in a traveling production of Davies' The Bremen Town Musicians. Kimberly endeavors to work with arts organizations that enhance the community. While working with Opera MODO on their production of The Consul,  Kimberly and the other artists on the team donated revenue from ticket sales to Freedom House Detroit, an organization that helps asylum-seekers in the Detroit area. 

Kimberly is a proud alumna of Northwestern University, where she also studied Musicology, Italian, and German. She earned her Master's Degree from The Mannes College of Music in New York City. Ms. Hann currently resides with her husband in Chicago. She is active in the choral community and is an Alto section leader at St. James Cathedral. She is also a seasoned Musical Theater performer. In her spare time Kimberly loves to practice yoga, knit, and cook fun recipes for her friends and family.