CHERYL STUDER, Soprano

Cheryl Studer was born in Midland, Michigan.At a very young age, she began studying piano and viola and started voice lessons at twelve years old with Mrs Gwendolyn Pike.She spent her senior high school years at Interlochen Arts Academy in 1974 and she completed her studies at the Hochschule Musik und darst ellende Kunst of Vienna with the great baritone Hans Hotter.

After that, she studied with Phyllis Curtin and she debuted at Tanglewood in 1976 with the Boston Symphony Orchestra under Seiji Ozawa ,who invited her for a series of concerts with the BSO at Symphony Hall during the 1976-77 season.

The American soprano began her opera career in 1980 as a member of the Bavarian State Opera under Maestro Wolfgang Sawallisch .She caught the world´s attention for the fist time when she was invited to participate in its Summer Festival to sing Irene(Rienzi).She made her debut in the Chicago Lyric Opera in 1984 and in the Bayreuth Festival as Elisabeth in Tannhäuser under Giuseppe Sinopoli in 1985.

Since then,she has sung in the most international Opera Houses in the world: Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona(debit in 1986 in Das Rheingold as Freia),Paris Opera(debut the same year in Die Zauberflöte as Pamina), San Francisco Opera(debut in Die Meistersinger as Eva,)Royal opera House,Covent Garden(debut in 1987 in Tannhäuser as Elisabeth),La Scala(debut in Verdi´s Requiem and in Don Giovanni as Donna Anna in 1987 under Maestro Riccardo Muti),New York Metropolitan Opera(debut in 1988 in Carmen as Micaela),Vienna State Opera(debut in Elektra as Chrysothemis in 1989).She debuted at the Salzsburg Summer festival that same year and in the same role.

She also made her debute in renowned music festivals in München,Lyon, Berlin,Niza, Dresden,Rio de Janeiro,Zurich,Tokio,Pekin and so on with a repertoire that reveals a soprano of exceptional versability and encompasses more than 75 roles.

In addition to her appearances in the most important Opera Houses of the world, Cheryl Studel has never forgotten the lied.She made her first European tour in 1992;ever since, she has been giving Lieder recitals in many European cities, as well as in the USA and Asia.Although an acclaimed interpreter of the great Germanic Lieder composers(in particular Brahms,Mahler, Strauss and Wolf),she also loves French repertoire and Samuel Barber´s songs.

Cheryl Studer also appears regularly as a concert soloist with the world´s most famous orchestras: Vienna Philarmonic,Berlin Philarmonic,Dresden Staatskapelle,London Symphony,Philarmonia Orchestra,Royal Concertgebouw and Philadelphia Orchestra to name a few.Her concert repertoire includes beethoven´s Missa Solemnis, Mozart´s concert arias, Verdi´s Requiem,Wagner´s Wesendonk-Lieder and Strauss´s Vier letzte Lieder, as well as other orchestral Lieder.

Cheryl Studer won the 1977 High Fidelity/Musical America Prize.At he following year she competed in the Metropolitan Opera Auditions Finals and won the Mrs Frederick A. Stoughton Award.She also won the Franz –Schubert- Institute- Preis for excellence in Lied interpretation.She received the Grand Prix du Disque-Prix Maria Callas in 1989 and the International Classical Music Award in 1993 in the category Best Female Singer of the Year.In the same year, she also received the Wilhelm Furtwängler Prize.One year later, she was chosen as Musical America´s vocalist of the Year.

A great many recordings featuring Cheryl Studel have also received numerous prizes,awards and distinctions.Among others:Grammy Award(Susannah-Carlisle Floyd-Virgin Classic),Edison Award and Orphee d´Or( Salome-Strauss-Deutsche Grammophone),First Cannes Classical Awards,Diapason d´Or Prix de l´Academie Charles Cros,Grand Prix de la Nouvelle Academie du disque,Orphe d´Or de l´Academie du Disque Lyrique,Caecilia Prijs,Timbre de Platine d´Opera International, Choc du Monde de la Musique and Grammophone Awards ,to mention some ot them.

Cheryl Studer is also a renowned teacher and she has given master classes in the USA and China and she usually participates as a member of jury in International Competitions.