Sarah Shafer
Praised by the New York Times for her “luminous voice” and “intensely expressive interpretations,” and named “remarkable, artistically mature … a singer to watch” by Opera News, soprano Sarah Shafer is quickly emerging as a sought-after artist on both the operatic and concert stage. The 2016–2017 season sees Ms. Shafer’s house and role debut as Leila in Bizet’s Pearl Fishers conducted by Frédéric Chaslin at Tulsa Opera, as well as a return to San Francisco Opera as Zerlina in Jacopo Spirei’s new production of Don Giovanni. Recital work includes appearances with the Liszt Academy in Budapest, Hungary, a salon concert exploring the poetry of Paul Verlaine as set by the music of Claude Debussy with the Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago, and a recital with pianist Brian Zeger as part of Grand Junction Symphony Orchestra’s chamber music series.
Concert work this season includes Carmina Burana with the San Antonio Symphony conducted by music director Sebastian Lang-Lessing, Mozart’s Requiem with the Omaha Symphony, Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony with both the Cheyenne and Williamsport Symphony Orchestras, the world premiere of Richard Danielpour’s “Talking Aphrodite” with Sejong Soloists at Carnegie Hall, a holiday concert with fellow Curtis alumnus Jarrett Ott and the Lexington Philharmonic Orchestra, and Bach’s St. John Passion with Ascension Voices.
The 2015 – 2016 season saw Ms. Shafer return to the San Francisco Opera for her role debut of Pamina in the Jun Kaneko production of Die Zauberflöte as well as her return to Opera Philadelphia as Adina in the Stephen Lawless production of L’elisir d’amore of which the Philadelphia Inquirer said “she has a beautifully crystalline sound, perfectly true intonation, glowing warmth, and a total presence that (if not huge or showy) hews in meaningful ways to text.” Concert work included Schubert’s Der Hirt auf dem Felsenwith pianist Richard Goode and clarinetist Anthony McGill and the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Handel’s Israel in Egypt with the New York Choral Society, and Mahler’s Resurrection Symphonywith the New York Youth Symphony at Carnegie Hall.
Highlights of recent seasons include the world premiere of Marco Tutino’s Two Womenat San Francisco Opera in the role of Rosetta, opposite Anna Caterina Antonacci and conducted by Nicola Luisotti, as well as creating the role of Mary Lennox in the world premiere of Nolan Gasser’s The Secret Garden, also with San Francisco Opera. Other career highlights include Barbarina and the cover role of Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro at the Glyndebourne Festival and the BBC Proms in London’s Royal Albert Hall, and several roles for Opera Philadelphia including Nuria in Osvaldo Golijov’s Ainadamar, Voce dal Cielo inDon Carlo, and Papagena in Die Zauberflöte.
An avid recitalist and chamber musician, Ms. Shafer enjoys an active collaboration with legendary pianist Richard Goode, having recently performed Schumann and Brahms lieder at Carnegie Hall. She has also collaborated with such musicians as guitarist Jason Vieaux, and clarinetist Richard Stoltzman. Ms. Shafer was a resident artist at the Marlboro Music Festival for five summers, where she worked with Richard Goode, Mitsuko Uchida, Benita Valente, Sir Thomas Allen, and Martin Isepp. She has also performed at the Mozart and Handel Académie européenne de musique in Aix-en-Provence, Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival France, the Bard Summer Music Festival, and was named a winner of the 2014 Astral Artists National Auditions.
Highlights of concert work includes appearances at Carnegie Hall with the New York Choral Society in Mendelssohn’s St. Paul, as well as performances in Bach’s St. John Passion and Mass in B minor, Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915, Poulenc’s Gloria, Lutoslawski’s Chantefleurs et Chantefables, Fauré’s Requiem, Duet for Soprano and Tenor after Tchaikovsky’s Fantasy-Overture Romeo and Juliet, Strauss’s Suite from Der Rosenkavalier, Handel’s Messiah, and Mahler’s Symphony No. 4. Ms. Shafer has appeared as soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the National Orchestra of Mexico, the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, Wroclaw Symphony Orchestra (Poland), the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Quad City Symphony Orchestra, among others.
A recent graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, Ms. Shafer’s credits for Curtis Opera Theatre include over 20 productions and a variety of roles such as Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, Almirena in Rinaldo, Giulietta in I Capuleti e i Montecchi, Elizabeth Zimmer in Henze’s Elegy for Young Lovers, Ilia inIdomeneo, Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Sofia in Il Signor Bruschino, and Mélisande in Impressions of Pelléas. Most recently, she sang the role of Sister Constance in Poulenc’s Dialogues of the Carmelites.
A native of State College, PA, Ms. Shafer holds degrees in voice and opera from the Curtis Institute of Music, was named a winner of the 2014 Astral Artists National Auditions, and is currently based in Philadelphia.