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Recent Awards 2018 Winner of The American Prize Chicago Oratorio Award 2014 - 3rd Place Winner of The American Prize - Schorr Memorial Award in Art Song 2013 Winner of The Hawaii Public Radio Art Song Contest 2012 Winner of The American Prize Chicago Opera Award 2011 Winner of The American Prize - Schorr Memorial Award in Art Song 2011 Winner of The Johnny Mercer Award 2011 Bronze Medal Winner The American Traditions Competition Full Biography
Christine Steyer, soprano, has distinguished herself as an artist of great versatility. In addition to being the recent recipient of seven national performance awards including the American Prize Chicago Oratorio and Opera Award and Johnny Mercer Award, Steyer has received acclaim for her portrayals of the title role in Madama Butterfly and Violetta in La Traviata. Since 2000, she has sung as a chorister and in several small roles in over 40 productions at Lyric Opera of Chicago. A frequent recitalist, Steyer sang several concerts of Russian and American music with pianist Philip Morehead, concerts of Spanish music with guitarist Brandon Acker and French music pianist with Jean-Claude Orfali . Steyer seeks many innovative ways to keep classical vocal music relevant in today's world. As a proponent of new works, she collaborated with numerous poets and musicians to publish Six Songs for Soprano and is currently collaborating with Jean-Claude Orfali on a book of original cabaret songs. Since 2005, Steyer has brought classical music to 23,000 youth in underserved areas with Bellissima Opera Outreach, an organization that she founded. Additionally, Steyer is the President of the new arts alliance, Working in Concert as well as the Artistic Director of one of its major initiatives: Bellissima Opera, the primary goal of which is the realization of The Transcendence Triptych— three new operas by acclaimed composer David Shenton exploring our shared humanity premiering June 2020 in Chicago. In December 2019 she was featured on WFMT’s program Whole Notes: Music of Healing and Peace singing the aria “Red” from one of these new operas, Future Perfect, with the libretto inspired by her workshops with 1,300 Chicago area youth. Steyer just returned from a UK Tour of the musical Persuasion with Chamber Opera Chicago and a France tour with The Chicago Paris Cabaret Connexion singing at the Montpellier Opera House, Paris' Salle Olympe de Gouges and the Lapin Agile - Paris' oldest cabaret club. Upcoming February concerts include recitals at Knox and Monmouth Colleges with Tim Pahel and the Schubert Festival at Unity Temple, Oak Park where Steyer will share the stage with Lawrence Brownlee, Winston Choi, Jeffrey Panko, and members of the Chicago Symphony and Lyric Opera of Chicago Orchestras. Steyer teaches voice privately in Oak Park and is an adjunct faculty member at Concordia University in River Forest, Illinois. |
Recent Press Quotes
"In particular, Christine Steyer’s rendition of Cio-Cio San was notable for gorgeous, satisfying vocal production from top to bottom, consummate musicianship, and charming stage presence. However, for me, what made her performance completely convincing and satisfying was her ability to project an enormous range of emotions in her singing and acting with minimal theatricality. The Butterfly role is so well known there is an inherent danger that any interpretation will almost seem to be a cliché of others we have heard unless it obviously attempt to deviate from the norm. Steyer’s version did not need to resort to any manipulative ploys for our sympathy because her emotional presence came across as absolutely honest and heartfelt. From the first notes wafting from off stage at her first entrance, we sensed her deep understanding of Cio-Cio San’s innocence and loveliness, vulnerability and sadness, and believed her completely from that moment on. By the end of the opera, we shared her devastating pain as personally and directly as if she were someone we knew as intimately as family." -Stephen Thomas, Professor of Music www.loosefilter.com |
