Recognized for her “sensual” and “strong” voice (New York Times), mezzo-soprano Devony Smith demonstrates versatility across operatic and concert repertoire. Devony has several recent role debuts including Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro, Hansel in Hansel and Gretel, and the title role in La Cenerentola with Opera Modesto, the Rooster in The Cunning Little Vixen with Opera Theater Freiburg, Sesto in Clemenza di Tito with Bronx Opera, and Dido in Dido and Aeneas at Teatro Communale di Narni.
Devony frequently collaborates with composers, most recently premiering Grammy Award-winning Jennifer Higdon’s Little River Songs and Benjamin P. Wenzelberg’s chamber work Any of Those Decembers, along with Eve Beglarian’s song cycle Farther from the Heart. She also premiered the role of the Designer in Luna Pearl Woolf’s staged oratorio Number Our Days at the Perelman Performing Arts Center with the choir of Trinity Wall Street. Devony has a long-standing relationship with Pulitzer Prize finalist Kate Soper’s Here Be Sirens, which she has toured in three different seasons, including a performance at National Sawdust. She will also appear on the cast album of Soper’s second opera, Romance of the Rose. Additionally, she recently toured with the Albany Symphony, performing five world premieres across New York State, including a work by Grammy-nominated composer Clarice Assad.
A champion of concert repertoire, Devony has performed as a featured recitalist with Caramoor Center for the Arts, Carnegie Hall City Wide, Ravinia Steans Music Institute, and Songfest where she also was the recipient of a Sorel Fellowship. Devony recently made her Carnegie Hall debut as the alto soloist in Dan Forrest’s Jubilate Deo with Manhattan Concert Productions and was the alto soloist in both Vivaldi’s Gloria and Durante’s Magnificat at Carnegie with MidAmerica Productions. Also at Carnegie Hall, she participated in the prestigious Song Continues Workshop with Marilyn Horne, Renée Fleming, and Graham Johnson.