Ariel Bybee is Artist-in-Residence at the University of Nebraska School of Music. She teaches voice lessons, works with the opera program, and participates in outreach and recruiting activities.
Mezzo-soprano Ariel Bybee has sung at the Metropolitan Opera for eighteen consecutive seasons. She first earned accolades at the Met for her performance as Jenny in The Rise and Fall of Mahagonny when she replaced Teresa Stratas on very short notice. Further acclaim came from her performances as Annio in the Met's premiere of Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito. Miss Bybee has sung numerous leading roles at the Met including Hansel in Hansel and Gretel, Nichlausse in Les Contes d'Hoffmann and Suzuki in Madama Butterfly. She made her highly successful debut at the Washington D.C. Opera in a new production of Menotti's The Consul and her European opera debut as Melisande at the Sofia Music Weeks in Bulgaria. She made her debut with the Vienna Philharmonic (Lord Maazel, conducting) in a concert performance of Elektra at Carnegie Hall.
Miss Bybee's professional talents were discovered by Maestro Maurice Abravanel of the Utah Symphony and later by Kurt Herbert Adler of the San Francisco Opera. Maestro Adler invited Miss Bybee to sing in San Francisco for several seasons, during which she appeared in many roles, including the title roles in Carmen, Musetta in La Boheme and Inez in La Favorita. She first performed on the East Coast when she sang the title role of Monteverdi's Coronation of Poppea at the Tanglewood Music Theatre. In the spring of 1985, Ariel Bybee appeared on stage with the New York City Ballet in its production of Songs of the Auvergne, and she debuted at the Ravinia Festival in Elektra conducted by Maestro Levine. She made her debut in Kuhmo, Finland in Pergolesi's Stabat Mater and Vivaldi's Gloria. Miss Bybee can also be heard in Franco Zeffirelli's motion picture of La Traviata, singing the role of Flora. As well as being heard on numerous Live at Lincoln Center telecasts, Miss Bybee has recorded two solo albums entitled, "O Divine Redeemer" and "Eternal Day."
Before making her debut with the San Francisco Opera Company, Miss Bybee taught junior high school music for five years, first in Utah and then in California. Since she believes that teaching refines her own performance skills, Miss Bybee has continued to give master classes and voice lessons on the university level. She has taught many talented singers in her New York studio, as well as teaching both at the Lee Strasberg Institute and the American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA) in New York City.
