Alfreda Burke, Soprano

"...Soprano Alfreda Burke...singing displayed a voice flexible and brilliant in the upper register, dark yet colorful in the middle and lower registers."

Alfreda Burke's vocal artistry has been described as "voluptuous, creamy and luxuriant" (Howard Reich, Chicago Tribune). She has appeared in concert throughout North America and in Europe. Ms. Burke made her Carnegie and Orchestra Hall debut in Strauss' Elektra with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra led by Daniel Barenboim. Highlighted performances include the Chicago Symphony at Ravinia under Erich Kunzel, Civic Orchestra of Chicago under Yaron Traub, Detroit Opera House, Rackham Symphony Choir, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Umbria Music Festival (Italy), TodiMusicFest, Lancaster Festival, Grant Park Music Festival, Millennium Park Gala, Kennedy Center, Chicago Opera Theater, Auditorium Theatre (Too Hot to Handel), Chorus Angelorum and Chicagoland Pops Orchestra, among others.

Ms. Burke's oratorio, opera, concert and musical theater engagements include the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts broadcast on WFMT-FM; Mozart Requiem, Mass in C Minor, Mass in C Major; Handel's Messiah; Christianson & Anderson's Too Hot to Handel; Mahler 2nd & 8th Symphonies; Poulenc Gloria; Rutter Requiem; Vaughan Williams' Dona Nobis Pacem; Boulez's Le Visage Nuptial under Pierre Boulez; Puccini's Turandot (Liu); Tchaikovsky's Iolanta; Menotti's Amahl & the Night Visitors; Barber's Knoxville: Summer of 1915; Mendelssohn's A Midsummer Night's Dream; Gershwin's Porgy & Bess; Bernstein's West Side Story; Kern's Show Boat (Kennedy Center/National Tour, Auditorium Theatre with her son, Dean), directed by Harold Prince; and the premiere of Payne's Lincoln's Farewell. She was featured in CSO's Symphony Center Inaugural Festival and Radiothon.

Ms. Burke's work in recordings, music video, television, radio, film and commercials includes: soprano vocalist in Bobby Lewis release and Dawa movies (LA) soundtrack featuring Ramsey Lewis, James Mack and members of the CSO; Celine Dion and R. Kelly's I'm Your Angel; profiles and broadcasts on CBS, NBC, WGN, WFLD, WCFC, WTTW (PBS), Odyssey, CAN-TV, satellite, cable, and internet; features on WFMT, NPR, WBEZ, WMBI, WGCI, WYCA and WOSU; The Visit, The Visitors, Unconditional Love, U.S. Marshals. Ms. Burke has made guest soloist appearances on the WTTW/Odyssey broadcast of 30 Good Minutes. She has performed the National Anthem for the Chicago Bulls and Chicago Fire.

Alfreda Burke received rave reviews for a Community Concerts national tour with Tenor Rodrick Dixon. "...Burke sang with such deep and knowing pathos that the audience was kept in rapt silence until the end of the set. ...Then Burke keened the achingly beautiful 'Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child, ' with arching chromaticisms that enhanced the melodic line." Additional recordings include her solo debut CD, From the Heart (2002); and Rodrick Dixon Live in Concert featuring Soprano Alfreda Burke (2008). Ms. Burke recorded and performed the Chicago Olympic 2016 Bid Anthem, "I Will Stand" (Millennium Park Gala, 2008). She received Master and Bachelor of Music degrees from Roosevelt University; and served as Alumna Ambassador for RU's 60th Anniversary. Visit www.sopranoalfredaburke.com

"...Soprano Alfreda Burke...singing displayed a voice flexible and brilliant in the upper register, dark yet colorful in the middle and lower registers."
- Muskegon Chronicle
"...Burke sang with such deep and knowing pathos that the audience was kept in rapt silence until the end of the set. ...Then Burke keened the achingly beautiful, "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child," with arching chromaticisms that enhanced the melodic line."
- Lake City Reporter
"Soprano Alfreda Burke, who portrayed a memorable Liu at last year’s festival staging of Turandot, almost achieved the impossible: delivering a challenging vocal line in intelligible English in the wide open spaces of this venue."
- Columbus Dispatch
"Burke and Dixon performed duet "Parigi o cara" by Verdi, and it sent chills down the spine."
- Dixon Telegraph
"...Alfreda Burke...presented a spectacular show..."
- Mount Vernon News
"...But Burke was the outstanding voice of the evening. With exquisite charm, she sang with an actor's instinct and a finesse that denoted true artistry."
- Chicago Defender
"...Soprano Alfreda Burke is lavishing voluptuous blues laments on "The Trumpet Shall Sound..."
- Chicago Tribune
"It will be a long time before listeners forget soprano Alfreda Burke lavishing the sound of her creamy midregister voice on "The Trumpet Shall Sound;"
- Chicago Tribune
"The evening was billed as a tribute to the Great American Songbook, but kicked off with the rousing "Brindisi" from Giuseppe Verdi’s "La Traviata". The selection proved a grand showcase for guest vocalists, tenor Rodrick Dixon and soprano Alfreda Burke, who also navigated the songbooks of George Gershwin... Leonard Bernstein...with the greatest of ease."
- Chicago Sun Times
"On the challenging "Summertime," Burke sounded sweet and tranquil, and her performance seemed almost effortless."
- Arlington Heights Daily Herald
"The audience... also were graced with classical music and the voice of soprano Alfreda Burke."
- Lancaster Eagle-Gazette
"Opera singer Alfreda Burke delivers impassioned praise for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. ..."
- Memphis Commercial Appeal
"In 'Give Me Jesus,' Burke achieved a similar effect, centering her pitch with perfect intonation right up to the top. ...'Ride On, King Jesus!' ...thrilling conclusion. The concluding duet (Iolanta) brought both singers to their strong upper registers. The combination of Dixon's bright ring with Burke's fuller tone was quite beautiful. ...Burke shaped Alban Berg's challenging melodic lines carefully to recreate his magical nighttime mood."
- Virginian Pilot