About Me
Hi, I’m Elena (she/her), a crossover singer/actor and voice teacher. I sing and teach to celebrate my favorite parts of being alive (cue the Sondheim): making discoveries, nurturing relationships, and loving the journey.
When I’m not on either side of the piano, I love to travel, journal, climb mountains, and make new animal friends. I love learning and am almost always in a class. Not-so-guilty pleasures include pastries, record shops, and Phish (Summer 2023 marked 50 shows). I’m a team player, risk taker, and excellent listener.
Both onstage and in the studio, collaboration is my favorite part of the Work. I embrace opportunities to collaborate with my fellow performers and teachers, composers, ensembles, students, and researchers. If you’ve got an idea that lights you up, I’d love to help you make it happen.
Official Bio
Acknowledged by the South Florida Classical Review for her “vocal color and variety,” Elena Blyskal creates vivid and versatile performances of empowered women in the musical theatre and classical canon. Recent performances include Sibella in A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, Rosalie Mullins in School of Rock, and Mrs. Morcom in a concert of Alan Turing and The Queen of the Night.
Elena made her debut with The Princeton Festival in June 2019, covering the role of Madame Mao in Nixon in China. Other favorite roles performed range from Queen of the Night to Khloe/Kourtney in the workshop of Dana Kaufman’s Opera Kardashian, which were roles created for her. As an enthusiastic collaborator in art song and new music, Elena has premiered the music of Julian Brijaldo, Dylan Findley, Peter Evans, Zachary Friedland, and Jared Hettrick, whose Hunger Games-themed cycle Songs on Fire was written expressly for her. Other collaborations include performances with Kaleidoscope MusArt, Hispanic-American Lyric Theatre, New American Voices, the soundSCAPE Festival, and dancer-creator Claire Porter and composer Mary Ellen Childs. She currently sings with the eVoco Voice Collective and the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Garden City, NY.
Elena earned her Doctor of Musical Arts in Vocal Pedagogy and Performance at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music, where her research interests included mindfulness practice in the collegiate vocal studio and cabaret song. She received her Master of Music in Vocal Performance from the Longy School of Music of Bard College. Elena serves on faculty at Manhattanville College, Western Connecticut State University, and CUNY Queens College. She lives in Queens with her husband and their cat.
