Melinda Paulsen (born 1964)[1] is an American mezzo-soprano and contralto who has appeared mostly in Germany, with a focus on concert singing.
[1] She studied first at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania, then from 1988 in Germany at the Musikhochschule München with Daphne Evangelatos, graduating in 1991.
[4] She has collaborated with conductors such as Roberto Abbado, Enoch zu Guttenberg, Marek Janowski and Helmuth Rilling, and has appeared in concert halls such as the Wiener Musikverein, the Leipzig Gewandhaus, and the Konzerthaus Berlin.
[2][4] Paulsen made the first recordings of certain works by Nadia Boulanger and Ethel Smyth,[1][4] including in 1993 some of Boulanger's songs (with pianist Angela Gassenhuber),[5] and Smyth's four songs for mezzo-soprano and chamber ensemble.
[7] A reviewer noted her strong, dramatic, vivid performance as the mother who "learns she will lose her daughter".