Bio

Lori Merkle Ford is the consummate lyric soprano and voice actress. Her work spans the genres of opera, oratorio, musical theatre, cabaret, film and themed attractions. Her performances are acclaimed on both the east and west coasts, as well as in cities across the United States.

Lori comes from a background of strong classical training in New York City and in Texas, where she began her career. In New York City, she performed many roles in the classical opera repertoire including Mimi in La Bohème and Micaela in Carmen (Castel Opera Arts), as well as Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi (New York Opera Forum). Lori’s New York City solo performances also include recitals of French and Italian arias, operetta classics, and numerous “Songs of the Season” festivals. Her San Antonio area performances of Gospel music were broadcast live on the radio and streamed live over the internet; she is also known in Los Angeles and San Antonio for her performances as the soprano soloist in Handel’s Messiah.

In addition to her extensive experience in the classical genre, Lori has also excelled in the most challenging vocal roles of the musical theatre: Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors, Laurey in Oklahoma!, Magnolia in Showboat, The Narrator in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, The Baker’s Wife in Into the Woods and multiple characters in Godspell. Lori’s strong acting and comedic skills, honed onstage in opera and musical theatre, have led her to branch out into the world of cabaret, where she performed musical revues produced by Linda Amiel Burns in New York City. In Hollywood, Lori was a monthly headliner at KingKing and El Cid with The Muse Project Cabaret, where she performed an original character called “The Opera Lady”: an homage to – and loving sendup of – classical opera divas.

Lori’s voice couples deep feeling with technical brilliance; her performance style features grace and lively showmanship. She began her vocal training with Thomas R. Engler in San Antonio, Texas. She continued her studies with Nico and Carol Castel in New York City and San Francisco, and workshopped with Nico Castel at The Juilliard School in New York City. Lori currently studies vocal performance with Melanie Emilio at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, and voice-over with Lori Tritel in Los Angeles, California.

In 2007, Lori embarked on an exciting project: an album of songs produced, engineered and accompanied by her parents and first voice teacher, all of whom helped foster her love of music. The songs were recorded in the choir loft of the church where Lori found her voice as a young adult, and the selections showcase her expertise across a variety of genres: oratorio and sacred music, favorites from the world of musical theatre and operetta, art songs, and contemporary tunes. Selections include "Ave Maria", "Vilia", "For Always", "If I Loved You", "Blame it on the Summer Night", and "No One is Alone".

In 2009, Lori was featured as the Tour Guide in YMTA Production’s The Light in the Piazza, which had a multiple week run at the historic El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood and received glowing reviews.

Based primarily in Los Angeles, Lori is seen and heard in a yearly theme-park-quality multimedia haunt: Magic Lantern Creations’ The House at Haunted Hill in Woodland Hills, California. Lori plays the ghost of Lily, a dead movie star of the 1930’s, who is heard in voice-over and appears to live again in film and animatronic figures.

Lori is a frequent presenter of workshops for emerging vocalists, and revels in every chance she has to share her gift of music with others and she welcomes the chance to share her music with you.