Shannon Gaffney

• Tamara Mellon Fellowship, New York University, 2021-2023
• Member of the Opera Collective of New York City since 2019
• The Arlene Kaplan Music Award 2017, Manhattanville College
• The Brian Lethbridge Award for Outstanding Vocal Achievement 2016, Manhattanville College

Shannon Gaffney is a multifaceted vocal artist based in NYC. This spring, she will sing the role of La Badessa in NYU Opera's production of Suor Angelica.

As an opera singer, Shannon has been seen onstage with Utopia Opera and Amore Opera. She is a proud member of the Opera Collective of New York City. This past spring, she appeared in the Emphatic Operatics showcase at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music’s Open Stages Festival, where she performed works from Tosca, Don Giovanni, and La Bohéme, to name a few. She has served as a ringer and cantor at Grace Church of White Plains, Church of the Highlands, and Christ the King Yonkers, among many others. As a musical theatre performer, her favorite past roles include Kate Monster in Avenue Q and Rona Peretti in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.

In May 2023, Shannon wrote, directed, and performed in her original play “When the Fat Lady Sings,” in which she integrated opera, art song, and musical theatre repertoire to emphasize the harmful impact of fatphobia, as well as evolving cultural body standards, for women in the opera and musical theatre industries. The show made its New York premiere at the Gene Frankel Theatre.

Currently, Shannon is a candidate for her Post-Masters Advanced Certificate in Vocal Pedagogy at NYU Steinhardt, where she serves as an Adjunct Instructor of Voice. She recently earned her Master of Arts in Musical Dramaturgy and Vocal Performance from NYU's Gallatin School of Individualized Study, and she holds both her BFA in Musical Theatre and BA in Creative Professional Writing from Manhattanville College.