Bybee sang at the Met in every season from 1977-95. She first earned accolades at the Met for her performance as Jenny in Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny when she replaced Teresa Stratas on very short notice. Further acclaim came from her performances as Annio in the Met's premiere of Mozart's La clemenza di Tito. Bybee has sung numerous leading roles at the Met including Hansel in Hänsel und Gretel, Niclausse in Les contes d'Hoffmann and Suzuki in Madama Butterfly. She made her highly successful debut at the Washington, D.C. Opera in a new production of Menotti's The Consul and her European opera debut as Melisande at the Sofia Music Weeks in Bulgaria. She made her debut with the Vienna Philharmonic in a concert performance of Elektra at Carnegie Hall. Bybee's professional talents were discovered by Maestro Maurice Abravanel of the Utah Symphony and later by Kurt Herbert Adler of the San Francisco Opera. Adler invited Bybee to sing in San Francisco for several seasons, during which she appeared in many roles, including the title roles in Carmen, Musetta in La bohème and Inez in La favorita. She first performed on the East Coast when she sang the title role of Monteverdi's Coronation of Poppea at the Tanglewood Music Festival. In the spring of 1985, Bybee appeared on stage with the New York City Ballet in its production of Songs of the Auvergne, and she debuted at the Ravinia Festival in Elektra conducted by James Levine. She made her debut in Kuhmo, Finland in Pergolesi's Stabat Mater and Vivaldi's Gloria.
Teaching history and voice
Before making her debut with the San Francisco Opera Company, Bybee taught junior high school music for five years, first in Utah and then in California. Starting in 1993, Bybee began teaching private students in her New York studio, as well as teaching both at the Lee Strasberg Institute and the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York City. For ten years, she was Artist-in-Residence and Associate Professor of Voice at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, teaching voice and directing operatic productions. In 2007, her UNL production of Frank Loesser's The Most Happy Fella won the International Trophy in competition at the Waterford International Festival of Light Opera. When she became an emerita professor at UNL, the university endowed the Ariel Bybee Chair of Opera Performance in her honor. In 2008, Bybee moved to the Salt Lake City area where she taught voice at the University of Utah.
Recordings
Bybee can be heard in Franco Zeffirelli's 1983 motion picture of La traviata, singing the role of Flora. As well as being heard on numerous Live from Lincoln Center telecasts, Bybee has recorded two solo albums: O Divine Redeemer and Eternal Day.
Personal life
From 1972-96, she was married to John Neylan McBaine. They divorced in the latter year. Bybee was married to James E. Ford, a professor of English, in 1998. Ford was at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, which is what prompted her to join the faculty there. She and Ford first had met and dated when they were both teenagers. She has a daughter, Neylan McBaine, and three grandchildren. Bybee proactively used her musical skill to advance the goals of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints of which she was a member. She often performed at the Washington DC Temple Visitors Center, especially at events where Ambassadors were invited. She performed several solos with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
Publications
The Modern Singing Master: Essays in Honor of Cornelius L. Reid. Edited by Ariel Bybee and James E. Ford. Lanham, MD & London: Scarecrow Press, 2002.
