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Carmen Balthrop Selected as 2016-17 ARHU Advance Professor

October 12, 2016 School of Music | Voice & Opera

Carmen Balthrop

Professor of voice will serve as role model and faculty mentor.

Carmen Balthrop, professor of voice in UMD’s School of Music, was selected to serve as the College of Arts and Humanities’ 2016-17 ADVANCE professor. Balthrop is recognized for her astonishing range of repertoire from baroque opera to contemporary song literature, and has been inducted into the university’s Alumni Hall of Fame.

Initially supported through a National Science Foundation grant and continued by the colleges and university, the ADVANCE professors program is dedicated to improving work environments, retention and the advancement of faculty, particularly women and underrepresented minorities at the assistant and associate professor level.

Balthrop has appeared with most of the major opera companies including the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Washington Opera, Canadian Opera, Deutsche Oper (Berlin), Teatro La Fenice (Venice), the New York Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic and the National Symphony. Among her signature operatic roles are Cio-Cio-San in “Madama Butterfly,” Violetta in “La Traviata,” Micaela in “Carmen,” Liu in “Turandot,” Donna Elvira in “Don Giovanni,” Poppea in “L’Incoronazione di Poppea” by Monteverdi and Susannah in “Susannah” by Carlisle Floyd. Her Broadway debut was in the historic premier of Scott Joplin’s opera, “Treemonisha,” in the title role. Her international appearances have taken her to concert halls in Austria, Amsterdam, the Bahamas, China, Mexico and Russia. In the United States, Balthrop has performed recitals in the White House, Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center.  Balthrop’s discography, found on Deutsche Grammophon, includes recordings of many of these roles. She earned her B.M. from the University of Maryland and M.M. from The Catholic University and was a first place winner in the Metropolitan Opera National Competition in New York.

Balthrop looks forward to mentoring and advocating for women’s career progress in the college. ADVANCE professors serve as role models and provide faculty mentorship. By facilitating peer networks of support and providing opportunities for leadership, the ADVANCE professor also works as an advocate for women and underrepresented minorities in academia and as a catalyst for equity and inclusion.