Internationally-renowned opera star, Victoria Livengood, will lend her mezzo-soprano voice to raise funds for the restoration of Kingston 's historic Ward Theatre at Christmas Echoes, which will be staged at the Bank of Jamaica auditorium on Sunday, December 14.

The concert, which is being hosted by the Ward Theatre Foundation, will be under the patronage of Minister of Information, Culture, Youth & Sports, Olivia Grange. It will also feature Jamaican tenor, Rory Baugh, Roger Williams and Touch of Elegance, featuring Paulette Bellamy, Dr Carol Ball and Alex Martin Blanken.

Victoria Livengood is a Grammy-nominated mezzo soprano who has been hailed by audiences and critics worldwide for her multifaceted and powerful performances in a remarkably varied repertoire.

Livengood emerged onto the opera scene in 1985 as a winner of the Metropolitan Open National Council auditions and later won international competitions including the Rosa Ponsell, Luciano Pavarotti and George London competitions.

Since then, she has won critical acclaim for dynamic portrayals in over 100 performances including Carmen at the Met which won her praise for "passionate acting and powerful vocalism". She has performed this heroine over 200 times opposite such tenors as Neil Schioff and Placido Domingo.

Her other acclaimed Met roles have included Herodias in Salome, Gillette in Les Contes D'hoffman, Myrtle Wilson in the Great Gatsby, Maddalena in Rigoletto, Queen Isabella in the Voyage, Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk and Helene in War and Peace, among others.

Livengood has performed throughout Europe, South America, Canada and the United States at venues like l' Opera de Nice, Teatro Real in Madrid, Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, the Edmonton Opera and L' Opera Montreal in Canada, Carnegie Hall and the New York City, San Francisco, Washington and St Louis opera theatres in the USA.

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