Kristin Darragh is a New Zealand born operatic contralto. Her voice has been described by Opernglas as one of “breathtakingly beautiful depth and formidable penetrating power.” Performance highlights in recent seasons have included The Angel in Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius with Auckland Choral, Alto soloist in the Brahms Alto Rhapsody with Orchestra Wellington and Marc Taddei, Lady Bertram in Jonathan Dove’s Mansfield Park with New Zealand Opera, Grimgerde in Die Walküre with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra under Simone Young andUlrica in Verdi’s Ballo in Maschera for Wellington Opera.
Kristin was engaged as a full-time soloist at Theater Lüneburg, Germany and has been a regular principal artist with New Zealand Opera. Operatic appearances include Suzuki in Madame Butterfly, Olga in Eugene Onegin, Amastre in Xerses, Maddalena in Rigoletto, Marcellina in Le Nozze di Figaro, Mercedes in Carmen, Erda inDas Rheingold, La Zia Principessa in Suor Angelica, Madame de la Haltiere in Cendrillon, Charlotte in Werther, Florence Pike in Albert Herring and the title role in Britten’s Rape of Lucretia.
Kristin trained at the Royal Academy of Music in London. She is now involved in the mentoring and training of New Zealand’s young aspiring singers and is the Director of Vocal Performance at the University of Waikato.