A native of Washington D.C., mezzo-soprano Cara Schaefer is recognized for “the kind of singing which is consummate in its power to communicate authentically” (DC Metro Theater Arts). She is known for her “wonderfully funny” portrayal of Ruth in Young Victorian Theatre Company’s The Pirates of Penzance, her “sexy, transcendent” interpretation of title role in Le Cabaret de Carmen with IN Series, Angela (Chateau Margaux) and Elena (El Barbero de Sevilla) with Teatro Lirico of DC, Mother (Hansel and Gretel) with Opera NoVa, and numerous appearances in the ensemble of Maryland Lyric Opera. Cara premiered the roles of Wo-Man Ray in Caesar and the Mannequin and Mary Billings in Voices of Zion with Alliance for New Music-Theatre and has appeared as a soloist in Capitol Hill Seventh Day Adventist Church’s Messiah, as well as Cantate’s Mozart’s Requiem (2020) and Lord Nelson Mass (2022). Ms. Schaefer is a two-time winner of the Maryland/DC chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing Auditions and a Grand Prize winner of the Sue Goetz Ross Memorial Competition.