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P R O F I L E S | L Y R I C O P E R A O F C H I C A G O
26
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November 1 - 30, 2017
LAUREN DECKER
(Schwertleite)
Previously at Lyric:
Giovanna/
Rigoletto
(2017/18); Third
Lady/
The Magic Flute
(2016/17).
A second-year Ryan
Opera Center member,
the contralto returns to Lyric’s stage later this
season as Enrichetta/
I puritani
. She will also sing
the Verdi
Requiem
with Chicago’s celebrated
Apollo Chorus. Decker spent the summer
of 2017 at Tuscany’s prestigious Georg Solti
Accademia, working with distinguished faculty
including coach Jonathan Papp and conductor
Richard Bonynge. She recently received, for the
second consecutive year, an Encouragement
Award at the Upper Midwest Region Finals
of the Metropolitan Opera National Council
Auditions. Professional engagements include
opera scenes with Milwaukee’s Kalliope Vocal
Arts. The Wisconsin native holds a B. F. A.
degree in vocal performance from the
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She
participated in Dolora Zajick’s Institute for
Young Dramatic Voices for two summers,
as well as the American Wagner Project
(Washington, D.C.), where she was a featured
artist for recitals in 2015 and 2016. Decker
also portrayed Sally/Barber’s
A Hand of Bridge
for the Up North Vocal Institute (Boyne
Falls, Michigan). She received third place in
the Senior Women Division of the Wisconsin
National Association of Teachers of Singing
Competition.
Lauren Decker is sponsored by an
Anonymous Donor, Susan M. Miller,
and the
Thierer Family Foundation.
CATHERINE
MARTIN
(Waltraute)
Previously at Lyric:
Hecuba/
Les Troyens
(2016/17).
The San Antonio native
was most recently heard at
Tanglewood (Wellgunde/
Das Rheingold
), Washington
National Opera (Wellgunde/
Das Rheingold
and
Götterdämmerung, Grimgerde/
Die Walküre
),
Florida Grand Opera, (Adalgisa/
Norma
),
Opera Colorado (Amneris/
Aïda
, opening the
season), and in her international debut at
Dresden’s Semperoper. This season she debuts
at Minnesota Opera, starring as Sister Helen/
Jake Heggie’s
Dead Man Walking
, having
previously scored a great success in that role
at Dayton Opera. Her close relationship with
Houston Grand Opera began with her tenure
at the company’s renowned Opera Studio
(Suzuki/
Madama Butterfly
, Berta/
The Barber of
Seville
, Flora/
La traviata,
Anna/
Maria Stuarda
)
and continued with return engagements
for such roles as Amneris, Flosshilde/
Das
Rheingold
, and Waltraute/
Die Walküre
. The
mezzo-soprano’s world premieres include the
roles of Sara Miller/D.J. Sparr’s
Approaching
Ali
and Mary/Jeanine Tesori’s
The Lion, the
Unicorn, and Me
, both at Washington National
Opera. She has portrayed Strauss’s Composer
and Verdi’s Amneris (Glimmerglass Festival),
Nicklausse/
The Tales of Hoffmann
, Hermia/
A
Midsummer Night’s Dream
, and Zaida/
Il turco
in Italia
(all at Wolf Trap Opera). Martin is
a former winner in the prestigious National
Opera Association Competition.
DEBORAH
NANSTEEL
(Siegrune)
Previously at Lyric:
Gertrude/
Romeo and
Juliet
(2015/16).
This season the American
mezzo-soprano makes
her
Metropolitan
Opera debut as Alisa/
Lucia di Lammermoor
and also sings Lucinda/
Cold Mountain
(North Carolina Opera) and
Grace/Daniel Sonenberg’s
The Summer King
(Michigan Opera Theatre). Nansteel recently
was heard as Sister Helen/
Dead Man Walking
(Canada’s Opera on the Avalon) and La
Duegne/
Cyrano
(Michigan). She has also
portrayed Nettie/
Carousel
, Elvira/
An American
Tragedy
(both at the Glimmerglass Festival)
and Lucinda/Jennifer Higdon’s
Cold Mountain
(world premiere, The Santa Fe Opera). A recent
alumna of Washington National Opera’s
Domingo Cafritz Young Artist Program,
Nansteel has appeared at WNO as Tisbe/
Cenerentola
, Third Lady/
The Magic Flute
,
Curra/
La forza del destino,
and Cat/Jeanine
Tesori’s
The Lion, the Unicorn, and Me
. The
mezzo-soprano graduated from the University
of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music
and is a former young artist of Seattle Opera
(Giulietta/
Un giorno di regno
, Maddalena/
Rigoletto
) and San Francisco Opera’s Merola
Opera Program (Berta/
The Barber of Seville
).
A winner in the National Orpheus Vocal
Competition, Nansteel has received numerous
awards, including the Andrew White Award,
the Betty Allen Award, and second place in
Seattle’s Sun Valley Opera competition.
ZANDA ŠVĒDE
(Grimgerde)
Previously at Lyric:
Maddalena/
Rigoletto
(2017/18).
The Latvian mezzo-
soprano makes her
company debut at Atlanta
Opera in the title role/
Carmen
and returns to Lyric Opera of Kansas
City to reprise her portrayal of Maddalena/
Rigoletto
this season. She also will sing Carmen at
her home company, the Latvian National Opera.
Previous career highlights include company
debuts with Lyric Opera of Kansas City
(Carmen, role debut) and North Carolina Opera
(Olga/
Eugene Onegin
, concert performance). At
San Francisco Opera, in addition to creating
roles in two world premieres (The Handmaiden
and The Flower/Bright Sheng’s
Dream of the Red
Chamber
, Lena/Marco Tutino’s
Two Wome
n),
Švēde has portrayed Maddalena, Suzuki/
Madama Butterfly
, the Maid/
The Makropulos
Case
, Third Lady/
Die Zauberflöte
, and Flora/
La traviata
. The mezzo’s stage repertoire also
encompasses Endimione/Cavalli’s
La Calisto
,
the title role/Massenet’s
Cléopâtre
, and the title
role/Piazzolla’s
María de Buenos Aires
. Concert
engagements include Beethoven’s
Symphony
No. 9
(San Francisco Symphony), Pergolesi’s
Stabat Mater
, Vivaldi’s
Gloria
, and the Mozart
Requiem
. Švēde recently completed her final year
in the prestigious Adler Fellowship program at
San Francisco Opera, where she participated in
the Merola Opera Program in 2013.
SIR ANDREW DAVIS
(Conductor/Music
Director)
Previously at Lyric:
55 operas since 1987,
most recently
Don
Quichotte, Les Troyens,
Das Rheingold
(all
2016/17).
Lyric Opera of Chicago’s internationally
renowned music director also conducts
The
Pearl Fishers
(his first-ever performances of
Bizet’s opera) and
Turandot
at Lyric this
season. The conductor’s summer activities
included his return to the Melbourne
Symphony Orchestra (of which he is chief
conductor), the BBC Symphony Orchestra
(at the BBC Proms), and the Edinburgh
International Festival (
Die Walküre
with the
Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Elgar’s
King Olaf
with the Philharmonia Orchestra). Recent
appearances have also included concerts with
the Detroit, Frankfurt Radio, Toronto, and
Royal Liverpool symphony orchestras. Former
music director of Glyndebourne Festival
Opera, Davis is also conductor laureate
of the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the
Toronto Symphony Orchestra (which he is
currently serving as interim artistic director).
Operatic successes include productions at
many major international companies, from
the Metropolitan, Covent Garden, and La
Scala to the Bayreuth Festival and the leading
houses of San Francisco, Munich, and Santa
Fe. Davis has appeared with virtually every
internationally prominent orchestra, including
those of Chicago, New York, London,
Berlin, Amsterdam, and Rotterdam. A vast
discography documents Davis’s artistry, with
recent releases including programs of Berlioz
and Ives, as well as Handel’s
Messiah
in Davis’s
new orchestration.
Sir Andrew Davis is the
John D. and Alexandra C. Nichols Music
Director Endowed Chair.