Rebecca Copley (born January 1952) [1] is an American soprano opera singer.
Copley is a resident of Lindsborg, Kansas, a Swedish arts community and the home of Bethany College, where she received her training. [2] She began her career as a concert sopran and has performed with many American orchestras. [3]
Cropley made her New York concert debut in 1986 as the soprano soloist in Johann Sebastian Bach's Mass in B minor with the Musica Sacra chorus and conductor Richard Westenburg at Avery Fisher Hall. [4] She performed with that ensemble again at the same venue as the soprano soloist in the world premiere of McNeil Robinson's Messe Solennelle (1987), [5] and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Coronation Mass (1988). [6]
Copley made her professional opera debut in 1987 as Desdemona in Giuseppe Verdi's Otello at the New Jersey State Opera opposite James McCracken in the title role. [7] Soon after, she performed excerpts from several operas in multiple concerts with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra; among them Tristan und Isolde (1987) [8] and Lohengrin (1988). [9] She also was a soprano soloist with that orchestra in performances of Verdi's Requiem and Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 . [8] She performed the latter work again with the New Haven Symphony Orchestra in 1991. [10] In 1988 she was the soprano soloist in the United States premiere of Eduard Tubin's Symphony No. 3. with the Long Island Philharmonic. [11]
In 1991 Copley made her debut at the New York City Opera in the title role of Giacomo Puccini's Turandot . [12] She made an unexpected debut at the Metropolitan Opera on October 3, 1992; replacing an ailing Aprile Millo mid performance in the role of Amelia in Un ballo in maschera for acts II and III of the opera. [13] She went on the sing the entire opera at the Met for the following October 7, 1992 performance with Richard Leech as Riccardo, Juan Pons as Renato, and Harolyn Blackwell as Oscar. [14] Subsequent roles she has performed at the Met include The First Lady in The Magic Flute (1993), Gerhilde in Die Walküre (2004 and 2005), Abigaille in Nabucco (2004), and the title role in Turandot (2005). [15]
Zinka Milanov was a Croatian operatic dramatic soprano who had a major career centered on the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. After finishing her education in Zagreb, Milanov made her debut in 1927 in Ljubljana as Leonora in Giuseppe Verdi's Il Trovatore. From 1928 to 1936, she was the leading soprano of the Croatian National Theatre. In 1937, Milanov performed at the Metropolitan Opera for the first time, where she continued to sing until 1966. She also performed as a concert singer and was a noted vocal coach and teacher. Milanov is the sister of the composer and pianist Božidar Kunc.
Angela M. Brown is an American dramatic soprano particularly admired for her portrayal of Verdi heroines.
Katiuscia Maria Stella "Katia" Ricciarelli is an Italian soprano and actress.
Karen Williams is an American concert and opera soprano. In 1985 she won the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions; making her stage debut at the Metropolitan Opera later that year as Serena in George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess. She sang that role at the Met again in 1989–1990. She has also performed Serena at Symphony Hall, Springfield with the Boston Concert Opera (1986), the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra (1998), the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra (1999), the Utah Symphony Orchestra (1999), and the Philadelphia Orchestra (2000) among others. In 1986 she made her debut with the Opera Company of Philadelphia as Amelia in Verdi's Un ballo in maschera.
Michèle Crider is an American lirico spinto operatic soprano. She has appeared in many of the great opera house in the world including the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, San Francisco Opera, Los Angeles Opera and the state operas of Vienna, Munich, Berlin and Hamburg. She has sung under Riccardo Muti, Daniel Barenboim, Zubin Mehta, James Levine, Nello Santi, Christoph von Dohnányi, Semyon Bychkov, Seiji Ozawa, Riccardo Chailly and Colin Davis. She is professor of vocal performance at the Mozarteum University Salzburg.
Andrea Gruber is an American dramatic soprano particularly admired for her interpretations of the works of Puccini, Verdi, and Wagner.
Herva Nelli was an Italian and American operatic soprano.
Alessandra Marc, born Judith Borden is an American dramatic soprano who has appeared at many of the world's opera houses and orchestras. Marc is particularly known for her interpretations of the works of Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Giuseppe Verdi, music of the Second Viennese School, and the title role in Puccini's Turandot.
Mariella Devia is an Italian operatic soprano. After beginning her career as a lyric coloratura soprano, in the finale part of it she also enjoyed considerable success with some of the most dramatic roles in the bel canto repertoire.
Gabriella Tucci was an Italian operatic soprano who was particularly associated with the Italian repertory and performed at notable opera houses worldwide. She appeared at the Metropolitan Opera in 11 Verdi roles across 13 seasons, including Violetta in La traviata and Desdemona in Otello.
Susan Dunn is a Grammy Award-winning American spinto soprano who has performed in many of the world's finest opera houses, concert halls, and theaters in operas, oratorios, and concert performances. Dunn is particularly admired for her portrayals of Verdi heroines. She currently lives in Durham, North Carolina where she works as a professor of vocal music at Duke University.
Giuliano Ciannella was an Italian operatic tenor who had a major international career from the mid-1970s through the late 1990s. He was notably a regular performer at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City from 1979 through 1986, the Lyric Opera of Chicago between 1982 and 1988, and at the Vienna State Opera from 1985 up until the end of his career. Ciannella mostly performed roles from the Italian repertory, particularly excelling in the operas of Giuseppe Verdi and Giacomo Puccini.
Youngok Shin is a South Korean lyric coloratura soprano known for her interpretations of the bel canto repertoire.
Eva Urbanová is a Czech operatic soprano who has had an active international career since 1987. She has been a principal artist at the National Theatre in Prague since 1990 and has appeared as a guest artist at many of the world's best opera houses, including La Scala in Milan and the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. She has made several recording on the Supraphon music label and was honored with a Thalia Award in 1993. In 2003 she was presented with the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the Government of France.
Betsy Norden is an American soprano who appeared with the Metropolitan Opera over 500 times.
Oksana Dyka, also rendered as Dika, is a Ukrainian operatic soprano.
Sigutė Stonytė is a Lithuanian soprano and professor at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre.
Julianna Di Giacomo is an American operatic soprano who has had an active international singing career since 1999. She has performed leading roles with several major opera houses, including La Scala in Milan, the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, the Opéra-Comique in Paris, and the Teatro Real in Madrid. On the concert stage she has appeared with several notable orchestras, including the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the New York Philharmonic, the Opera Orchestra of New York, and the Vienna Philharmonic.
Heidi Stober is an American operatic soprano who has performed leading roles in major opera houses internationally, including the Dutch National Opera, the Garsington Opera, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Metropolitan Opera, the Municipal Theatre of Santiago, the Semperoper, and the Vienna State Opera. She has been particularly active with the Houston Grand Opera where she has performed in more than a dozen operas since 2004, including the world premieres of Daniel Catán's Salsipuedes: a Tale of Love, War and Anchovies (2004), Mark Adamo's Lysistrata (2005), and Ricky Ian Gordon's The House without a Christmas Tree (2017). She has also performed in more than ten operas with the San Francisco Opera since 2010. Since 2008 she has been a resident artist at the Deutsche Oper Berlin where she has primarily performed roles from the lyric soprano repertoire. Also active as a concert soprano on the international stage, she has performed with the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, the Houston Symphony, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the New York Philharmonic, the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Oslo Philharmonic, and the Radio Filharmonisch Orkest among other orchestras. She is particularly admired for her interpretations of the works of George Frideric Handel and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Nikki Li Hartliep is a Japanese-born American soprano who has performed with major opera companies and orchestras around the world.