American soprano Felicia Moore is recognized as a powerful and innovative emerging artist in her field, but that’s not all she is. Moore is also a powerful and innovative woman who is passionate about women’s rights and empowering young leaders. 

She is a proud alumna of The Juilliard School, Mannes School of Music, and Westminster Choir College, but her operatic career didn’t always seem like the obvious choice. She names Eileen Farrell, Etta James, and Led Zeppelin as the top musical inspirations in her life — a combo that may seem surprising, given her genre of performing. But Moore didn’t grow up listening to classical music or opera at all. 

“Music was always playing in our house, but it was rock and roll, blues and folk music,” she says. “I came to classical music through the lens of those genres. I still hear cadenzas and melismas as guitar riffs and scatting. Someone once told me that I sing Mozart like jazz, and it’s one of the best comments I’ve received.”

As a self proclaimed “choir nerd,” in high school, Moore went to Westminster Choir College for her bachelor’s degree. She felt out of place in an opera chorus and says she had no clue what she was doing or how to move onstage. When she went to school for her master’s degree, everyone else came from a deep love of opera and theater as a soloist, whereas Moore came from a real love of ensemble. That difference was hard for her to reconcile. 

For awhile, Moore says, those two things felt so distant and that “I felt I would never catch up.” But her choral background has proven to be not only helpful, but also instructive of her artistry onstage, whether she’s the soloist or a member of an ensemble. She uses all of that background experience — and her tenacity — to continue building her career. 

“I’m proud to say I didn’t listen to those who told me I would never be a singer,” Moore says. “I know I’m not alone in this, and that almost every artist has a story like mine — one where they were discouraged and told to pick another path. At almost every competition I attend, colleagues and I commiserate together about this, because we all managed to beat the odds and prove the naysayers wrong.” 

And boy, were those naysayers wrong about Moore. Her calendar is jam packed with “firsts” and headlining roles this season. She heads to Arizona Opera for Ariadne auf Naxos in April to sing the title role with a wildly talented cast. After Ariadne, she’ll perform the title role in Heartbeat Opera’s "Lady M," a new take on Verdi’s Macbeth that will focus on Lady Macbeth’s journey, in New York City. Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the San Diego Symphony and Der fliegende Holländer with Opera Maine are also on the agenda. 

“This lineup of gigs is so exciting to me, as it’s a lot of ‘firsts’ for me,” Moore said. “I’ll be performing my first Strauss, Verdi and Wagner roles in a row. I’ve been told that I need to be patient until my voice is ready for these roles for about 10 years now, and suddenly they are rushing in!”

Though she’s looking forward to all those “firsts” later this season, Moore is currently working on Virgil Thomson and Gertrude Stein’s The Mother of Us All, performing the role of Susan B. Anthony. This collaboration between The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the New York Philharmonic and The Juilliard School (her alma mater), brings Susan B. Anthony’s struggle to our attention once again. It’s a project that Moore is deeply passionate about. 

“Our country has a very turbulent history with equal rights, which we are still fighting for today, 100 years after the ratification of the 19th amendment,” she said. “It is both deeply therapeutic to have the opportunity to explore these relevant political issues of today through this opera, and deeply disturbing that it is relevant at all in 2020.” 

Opera isn’t the only way Moore is highlighting the importance of civic duties and ensuring that women across the country have equal rights. In addition to giving to causes she cares about monthly (Planned Parenthood and the ACLU are her favorites), she works with Turn The Spotlight, a foundation created to identify, nurture, and empower leaders – and in turn, to illuminate the path to a more equitable future in the arts through mentorship by and for exceptional women, people of color, and other equity-seeking groups in the arts.   

Her passion for equality and the next generation of young leaders extends into her artistry as well. She loves to tell stories on stage because she wants people to see themselves reflected on the stage and to feel seen and heard through these stories. Moore stressed the importance of representation in the arts: “I tell stories on stage because it’s important to have larger bodies on our stages, in our stories, showing us in love, in joy, in pain, etc…and not just as the butt of a joke or as the sidekick.” 

A large part of that has been cultivating her artistry in many ways, shapes, and sizes. Though she lives in New York City, Moore relies on heading outside of the city to reset. She often catches herself self-protecting and building walls as her own oasis away from the hustle-and-bustle. That’s how she knows it’s time to take an escape to release her creative side again. 

Moore also utilizes her community of peers to help her grow her craft. In addition to commiserating on the naysayers, she says she has often sought advice and assistance from others in the world of opera and classical music. 

“A lesson I have learned time and time again is that help is always there if you ask for it,” she says. “While this career is really competitive, it is not as cut-throat as it seems. There is a huge network of people who want and need YOU to sing. I always regret the times I don’t ask for help, but I never regret when I do.”  

As part of this community, Moore is looking forward to building more opportunities for women of all shapes, sizes, and colors, as well as the next generation of younger artists who will come after her. She says that audiences are craving a change in repertoire, and a change of focus in classical music productions. 

“I think audiences want to see our times more reflected in the productions,” Moore said. “Personally, I love walking away from a performance with a better sense of my place in the world. Sometimes this teaches me just how privileged I am, and sometimes it shows me how much work we still have to do so women are not sacrificed for the triumph of men. I admire the tradition we come from, but I’m also interested in where we are going and being a part of the action as a 'doer.'” 

We can’t wait to see what Moore does as a “doer” next — we’ll be waiting! 

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