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The American soprano, Kitty Cleveland, has been singing for 20 years. Her voice, which has a three-octave range, has frequently been likened to a cello: rich, emotive, passionate and lyrical. She has extensive stage experience with the New Orleans Opera, the Jefferson Performing Arts Society, and Tulane Summer Lyric Theater. In 2000 she was nominated for a Big Easy Award for her portrayal of the Mother Abbess in the Tulane production of The Sound of Music. She also sang back-up vocals for noted soprano Sarah Brightman on the New Orleans leg of her La Luna tour.
Throughout high school and college Kitty Cleveland studied voice in the classical style. While the Met auditions and an opera career were what her coaches had in mind, it never had a hold on her heart the way Christian music did. Though much of her time in the following years was spent having a family, practicing law, and teaching college students, her longing to devote herself to a music career only intensified.
During a painful family crisis in which her father was wrongfully convicted and sentenced to prison for 10 years, Kitty Cleveland turned to faith. Out of those insights came the words and music to the song "Surrender". A final crossroads came in the Spring of 1999. She repeatedly and intensely felt called to make a CD of Christian Music, with "Surrender" as the theme. This was also her last year of eligibility to audition for the Metropolitan Opera, a goal she had set for herself years earlier. Both challenges would require all of her extra time and energy.
Kitty Cleveland decided to devote her time to singing both Christian music and opera. Since that time she hasn't looked back. Her debut album, Surrender, went on to receive the 2001 UCMVA Unity Award for Sacramental Album of the Year. Her second album, Sacred Arias, was recently selected as a finalist for the 2002 Devotional Album of the Year.
Kitty Cleveland’s television credits include five appearances as a guest on the Life on the Rock television series, which was hosted by Jeff Cavins and broadcast live into over 80 million homes worldwide. She has also been featured on WLAE as a guest soloist on Archbishop Hannan’s Christmas Special, and served as cantor for the WLAE daily-televised masses. In November 2002 she appeared on Backstage, a self-narrated music program for worldwide television broadcast.
Increasingly invited to share her testimony and her singing all over the world, Kitty Cleveland now makes her ministry a full-time commitment. |
