Meet Caroline Worra

Short bio:

Caroline Worra has been hailed by Opera News as "one of the finest singing actresses around." The soprano has sung over 100 roles in 80 operas, is on 6 opera/classical recordings, and received international acclaim, including a GRAMMY nomination for Best Opera Recording. She has performed worldwide with over 90 companies and on two U.S. National Tours. Dr. Worra also has a private voice/piano teaching studio in Stamford, Connecticut, is a Music Minister at First Presbyterian Church in Greenwich, Connecticut, is a a voice instructor at the Janiec Opera Company at the Brevard Music Center in North Carolina, and is the Artistic Director at Charlottesville Opera in Virginia.

Long bio:

Caroline Worra has been hailed by Opera News as "one of the finest singing actresses around." has sung over 100 roles from over 80 operas including 20 World, American, and Regional Premieres. She was internationally acclaimed for her performances of Jenny in The Mines of Sulphur, Grammy nominated CD for Best Opera Recording, and as the title role for The Greater Good; Passion of Boule de Suif, Opera News and New York Times pick for one of the top classical CDs of the year. Her third full opera recording, Glory Denied, was released by Albany Records and was a Washington Post and Opera News pick for one of the top CDs of the year. Her fourth full opera CD, Amleto by Franco Faccio, was recorded live by Naxos and was an Opera News pick for one of the ten best opera recordings of the year. For Caroline's portrayal of Regina Geltrude, she was reviewed by Voix des Arts as "singing with emotional directness and white hot charisma" and "exerting a prodigious histrionic presence even in the context of an audio recording." In 2019, "44 Ambitions for Soprano and Piano" was released by Meyer Media, LLC, which is a CD of art songs by composer Paul Richards with pianist Brian Garman. In 2021, she portrayed the Queen in the recording of the opera "The Emperor and the Queen" by Kamala Sankram and Peter McCabe.

Ms. Worra has worked with over 90 different opera companies including The Metropolitan Opera, The Lyric Opera of Chicago, Boston Lyric Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Fort Worth Opera, Dallas Opera, Long Beach Opera, Opera Santa Barbara, Madison Opera, Cedar Rapids Opera, Opera Memphis, Fargo-Moorhead Opera, Gotham Chamber Opera, Urban Arias, American Lyric Theatre, American Opera Projects, Tanglewood, Opera Saratoga, Berkshire Opera Festival, The Princeton Festival, and six seasons at both Glimmerglass Opera and New York City Opera. Caroline performed on two U.S. National Tours with San Francisco's Merola/Western Opera Theatre singing Violetta in LaTraviata and Rosalinda in Die Fledermaus. She gave a debut recital at Carnegie Hall (Weill Hall) and performed on the main stage of Carnegie Hall as the soprano soloist in Beethoven's Mass in C, Britten's Spring Symphony, Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass and Orff's Carmina Burana. She recently performed as the soprano soloist in Mahler's Symphony No. 4 and Strauss' Four Last Songs with the LaCrosse Symphony. Overseas she has performed as Anne True Love in The Rake's Progress at Teatro Massimo Bellini in Catania, Sicily, Jenny in The Mines of Sulphur at The Wexford Festival Opera in Ireland (winner of The Best Opera of Ireland Award), Violetta in LaTraviata with ECAI in Brasilia, Brasil, and as the title role in The Merry Widow with Musica Viva in Hong Kong.

Caroline is a recipient of the Shoshana Foundation/Richard F. Gold Career Grant. She grew up in Wisconsin and graduated from Onalaska High School where she also received the Wall of Excellence Award. She has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Piano and Vocal Performance from Luther College where she received the Distinguished Service Award. She has a Master of Music Degree in Vocal Performance from The University of Missouri in Columbia where she received a Distinguished Alumni Award from the College of Arts and Science. Caroline also has a Doctor of Music degree in Vocal Performance from Indiana University with minors in Music Education and Choral Conducting. She was the head of the music department at the Stanwich School in Greenwich, CT where she and her husband, Kreg Gotschall, taught for 17 years. In the school's final year, they received the 2019 Humanitarian Grant Award in honor of Kreg's sister Kerry Gotschall, which allowed them to have the incredible experience of teaching music to the students and teachers at The Blessing School in Rwanda, Africa.

Caroline lives in Stamford, Connecticut and continues to perform around the world while maintaining a private teaching studio. She is the Minister of Music at First Presbyterian Church in Greenwich, Connecticut where she conducts the Chancel Choir and children's choirs. She also enjoys her time as a voice instructor at the Janiec Opera Company for the Brevard Music Center's Summer Music Festival in North Carolina where she has taught for the past 9 summers, and this was her her 5th year with Charlottesville Opera in Virginia where she is the Artistic Director.