Mezzo-soprano Lauren McNeese made her LA Opera debut in 2006 as Tebaldo in Don Carlo, then returned as Javotte in Manon. She is an alumna of the Lyric Opera Center for American Artists, where she appeared as Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro, Siébel in Faust and in such works as The Pirates of Penzance, Die Walküre, Thaïs, La Traviata, Street Scene and Die Zauberflöte. She has since returned to Lyric Opera of Chicago as a guest artist to perform the roles of Lapak the Dog in The Cunning Little Vixen, Second Lady in Die Zauberflöte as well as Wellgunde in Das Rheingold, Rossweisse in Die Walku"re, and Wellgunde in Go"tterdämmerung in the 2005 Lyric Opera Ring Cycle. Other recent engagements include Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni with Minnesota Opera and Isolier in Wolf Trap Opera’s Le Comte Ory. Later this season, she will return to Lyric Opera of Chicago for her role debut of Dorabella in Così fan tutte. Future engagements also include a return to Minnesota Opera and Michigan Opera Theater and Toronto Symphony debuts.