Description:

Part of the Tichio-Finnie Vocal Master Class Series 

Calista Ro-Jei Smith, soprano; Emily Amesquita, mezzo-soprano; Wesley Diener, baritone; Spencer Greene, bass; (Katelyn Cox and Abigail Arnold, soprano, alternates); Yasuko Oura, piano 

The Wall Street Journal praises Christine Goerke’s “big, blazing soprano that not only has the gale-force power and sheen to slice through Strauss’ huge orchestra, but also seamless legato and an entire paintbox of colors.” Making appearances at the world’s major opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera, Houston Grand Opera, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, and Deutsche Oper Berlin, Goerke has sung much of the great soprano repertoire, from Mozart and Handel to Strauss and Wagner. Her recording of Ralph Vaughan Williams’s A Sea Symphony with Robert Spano and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra won a 2003 Grammy Award for Best Classical Recording and Best Choral Performance. She is the recipient of a 2001 Richard Tucker Award, the 2015 Musical America Vocalist of the Year Award, and the 2017 Opera News Award. The 2023-24 season saw her return to the Metropolitan Opera for Turandot, the Vienna State Opera for Elektra, and the Houston Grand Opera for Parsifal. In this master class, she coaches accomplished Bienen School voice and opera students.

Giacomo Puccini, “Era uguale la voce?” from Gianni Schicchi 
Gioachino Rossini, “En proie à la tristesse” from Le comte Ory 
George Frideric Handel, “Se il mar promette calma” from Lotario 
Richard Strauss, “Wie du warst” from Der Rosenkavalier