For me, it began with opera arias around the piano in a house called Lismorahaun in the west of Ireland.
Singing wove its way into every corner of my life: it brought me across the Atlantic to study at Juilliard, it gave me my first professional job on London’s West End, and has led me to explore places and stories I would not have encountered otherwise.
My career is guided by a primary focus on storytelling in whatever form it may take—theater, recital, cabaret, opera—and some of my favourite work has been that which blurs the boundaries between these different art forms...
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"a radiant mezzo-soprano"
next on the calendar...
Naomi reprises her critically-acclaimed performance with Irish National Opera in this fragmented retelling of the story of Rosemary Kennedy.
Conceived by Netia Jones and Brian Irvine, the piece will be adapted for socially-distanced audiences.
Performance dates:
Sep 25, 26, 27, 30
Oct 2, 3, 4
O'Reilly Theatre, Dublin
“This production has compassion at its core, and a bravura performance by O’Connell gives voice to the girl who was voiceless.”
“O’Connell’s performance was in every respect outstanding. Her acting was intelligently formed, emotionally honest and so finely detailed that she managed to capture even the smallest facial gesture, or movement which elevated her portrayal to the highest level"
The Theatre...is a house of strange enchantment, a temple of dreams...
A focus on new collaborative works and contemporary opera
Naomi performs 'The Wait' by Emma O'Halloran and Mark O'Halloran in a short film produced by Irish National Opera
a gifted interpreter of classical operatic & concert repertoire
A very engaging and charismatic singer, acclaimed for her sensitivity to the meaning and sound of words and how they connect to music
Naomi records Michel Legrand's 'You Must Believe in Spring' with pianist Aoife O'Sullivan at Dublin's Windmill Lane Studios
Theatre I Opera I Artist-in-Residence
Innovative, genre-defying performances spanning repertoire from Ravel to Randy Newman...
An electrifying cabaret about infidelity, love, lust, and crimes of passion, featuring such firm favorites as How could we be wrong and I'm Unlucky at Gambling by Cole Porter, Je ne t'aime pas by Kurt Weill, and You Can Have Him by Irving Berlin.
A critically acclaimed recital program of sirens and suffragettes, temptresses and kleptomaniacs.
Selected features and interviews
NAOMI LOUISA O’CONNELL was singing the enigmatic Mrs. Van Buren in previews of Intimate Apparel for Lincoln Center Theater when New York theaters went dark abruptly in mid March. Ricky Ian Gordon and Lynn Nottage’s new chamber opera, the story of an African– American seamstress in 1905 New York, is now scheduled to reopen in spring 2021.
A singer with an unusual career path, moving between opera, straight theatre, cabaret, and other genres. Prior to viewing “Least Like the Other,” Operawire managed to track down O‘Connell to talk about her career and interpreting this unique work.
With a strong focus on authenticity of text, Naomi's vocal repertoire spans from Baroque to classical and contemporary styles.
Mélisande
Poppea
Charlotte
Dido
Cherubino
Octavian
Hansel
L'enfant
Lilli Vanessi
La Périchole
Eliza Doolittle
Anna I
BERNSTEIN
Jeremiah Symphony
Songfest
Arias and Barcarolles
RAVEL
Shéhérazade
3 poèmes de Mallarmé
MAHLER
Rückert Lieder
Symphony No. 4
POULENC
La dame de Monte-Carlo
Christopher Berg
Tom Cipullo
Rhona Clarke
Korine Fujiwara
Ricky Ian Gordon
Jake Heggie
Brian Irvine
Mary Kouyoumdjian
Elena Langer
Emma O'Halloran
Paola Prestini
Ellen Reid
GENERAL MANAGEMENT
Ken Benson
Ken Benson Artists
