I am very sorry to share news of the death of mezzo soprano Veronica McHale.  Veronica passed away the morning of Wednesday, August 26, 2009.
 
Veronica brilliantly portrayed our Fairy Queen in Gilbert & Sullivan's Iolanthe in August 2008.  This is a loss for Light Opera Works and indeed to the opera and operetta stage.
 
A photo of Veronica as the Fairy Queen can be seen here on our website.
 
Veronica had a burgeoning career, having recently debuted with Union Avenue Opera as La Zia Principessa (Suor Angelica) and La Ciesca (Gianni Schicchi).  In 2008 she covered Dame Quickly in Lyric Opera of Chicago's production of Falstaff (a role she reprised in France last November when the New York Opera Society traveled to the municipal Theater of Castres), sang Mamma Lucia in Cavalleria Reusticana with the Skokie Vallery Symphony Orchestra, and gave a solo recital for Lyric Opera of Chicago's Riverside chapter.  Last fall, she was the alto soloist in Rossini's Petite Messe Solennelle with the Bel Canto Chorus. Her full biography can be found at www.veronicamchale.com.
 
A beautiful eulogy from her friend Rebecca Schorsch can be found on Facebook.
 
Rest in Peace, Veronica.  We will miss you.