Stars at the MACC: Melissa Errico

Woman of stage, screen and song, Melissa Errico has become one of the polestars of the American musical theater. Actress and author, called “an incomparable concert performer” by The Wall Street Journal, she mixes cabaret and classic shows with much-praised recordings—and then adds a wry take on them all in sparkling prose. A Gulf Coast Symphony fan favorite, Melissa has performed with the Gulf Coast Symphony a half dozen times over that past 20 years.  

“The Maria Callas of American musical theater,” as Opera News has called her, referencing both her silken voice and dramatic, expressive intensity, Melissa Errico is an actress, singer, and author. First known for her starring roles on Broadway, she has since become a concert, cabaret and recording artist as well; her 2018 album Sondheim Sublime was called by The Wall Street Journal “The best all-Sondheim album ever recorded.” Along with her many appearances singing and playing Sondheim, she is also closely associated with the music of Michel Legrand—having starred in his sole Broadway show, Amour, she was asked to write his eulogy by The New York Times, and was then invited to become the sole American performer to participate in the extraordinary two-day memorial to Legrand held in April 2019 at Paris’s Le Grand Rex Theatre, work that led one critic to announce that, “Errico is, and will continue to be, the premier interpreter of the musical legacy of Michel Legrand.” Her album of Legrand’s music, Legrand Affair Deluxe Edition, appeared in 2019.