Opera Singer Stephanie Blythe to Mentor Pepperdine Opera Students as Artist-in-Residence
American opera and musical theater icon Stephanie Blythe will have a four-day residency
on the Pepperdine University Malibu campus[BROKEN LINK] from September 27 through September 30, during which she will hold a series of master
classes offered through the Flora L. Thornton Opera Program, visit rehearsals, and
participate in a performance with students.
Master classes will be held on September 27 from 4 to 6:30 PM, September 28 from 2 to 5 PM, and September 29 from 6 to 8 PM. The final performance will be held on September 30, from 4 to 6:30 PM, in Raitt Recital Hall.
The mezzo-soprano opera singer is considered to be one of the most highly respected and critically acclaimed artists of her generation. She has sung in many of the renowned opera houses in the U.S. and Europe, including the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Seattle Opera, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, and the Opera National de Paris.
Blythe’s many roles include the title roles in Carmen, Samson et Dalila, Orfeo ed Euridice, La Grande Duchesse, Tancredi, Mignon, and Giulio Cesare; Frugola, Principessa, and Zita in Il Trittico, Fricka in both Das Rheingold and Die Walküre, Waltraute in Götterdämmerung, Azucena in Il Trovatore, Ulrica in Un Ballo in Maschera, Baba the Turk in The Rake's Progress, Ježibaba in Rusalka, Jocasta in Oedipus Rex, Mere Marie in Dialogues des Carmélites; Mistress Quickly in Falstaff, and Ino/Juno in Semele.
She also created the role of Gertrude Stein in Ricky Ian Gordon’s 27 at the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and sung performances of Ms. Lovett in Sweeney Todd at the San Francisco Opera, and Nettie Fowler in Carousel at the Houston Grand Opera and with the New York Philharmonic.
In concert, Blythe has appeared with many of the world's finest orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Opera Orchestra of New York, Minnesota Orchestra, Halle Orchestra, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, the Ensemble Orchestre de Paris, and the Royal Concertgerbouworkest.
She has appeared at the Tanglewood, Cincinnati May, and Ravinia festivals, and at the BBC Proms. The many conductors with whom she has worked include Harry Bicket, James Conlon, Charles Dutoit, Mark Elder, Christoph Eschenbach, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Alan Gilbert, James Levine, Fabio Luisi, Nicola Luisotti, Sir Charles Mackerras, John Nelson, Antonio Pappano, Mstislav Rostropovitch, Robert Spano, Patrick Summers, and Michael Tilson Thomas.
A frequent recitalist, Blythe has been presented in recital in New York by Carnegie Hall in both Stern Auditorium and Zankel Hall, Lincoln Center in both its Great Performers Series at Alice Tully Hall and its American Songbook Series at the Allen Room, Town Hall, the 92nd Street Y, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She has also been presenter by the Vocal Arts Society and at the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C.; the Cleveland Art Song Festival, the University Musical Society in Ann Arbor, the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Shriver Hall in Baltimore, and San Francisco Performances.
Blythe was named Musical America’s Vocalist of the Year for 2009. Her other awards include the 2007 Opera News Award and the 1999 Richard Tucker Award. She is also the artistic director of the Fall Island Vocal Arts Seminar at the Crane School of Music.
These events are free and open to the public, with limited seating. For additional information about the performances, and to purchase tickets, visit the Center for the Arts website.