MacPhail Presents: Deborah Voigt in Masterclass
Deborah Voigt will present a master class with MacPhail Students, Minnesota Opera Resident Artists, and Twin Cities singers from the community in Antonello Hall at MacPhail’s downtown Minneapolis location. Don’t miss this extraordinary opportunity to witness the brilliance of one of opera’s most celebrated voices, as Twin Cities’ singers showcase their exceptional talent! Join us for an unforgettable experience!
About the Presenter
As one of the world’s most revered artists and music’s most endearing personalities, soprano Deborah Voigt is an inspiration to audiences the world over. Through her performances and television appearances, she is known for the singular power and beauty of her voice, and captivating stage presence.
Having made her name as a leading dramatic soprano, she is internationally lauded for her performances in the operas of Wagner, Strauss, and more, as well as for her recitals and accounts of Broadway standards and popular songs. In addition to boasting an extensive discography, she has frequently appeared as both performer and host in the Metropolitan Opera’s Live in HD series, which is broadcast to movie theaters around the world.
A devotee of Broadway and American song, Voigt has given acclaimed performances of popular music, including benefit concerts for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and New York Theatre Workshop. She has sung with Barbara Cook and Dianne Reeves at the Hollywood Bowl, and given performances in Lincoln Center’s long-running American Songbook series, singing Broadway and popular standards. In a pair of special guest appearances, she appeared with singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright at London’s BBC Proms, and joined Broadway star Kristin Chenoweth for a medley of music and comedy at Carnegie Hall. She won praise for her star turn in Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance with New York City’s MasterVoices (formerly the Collegiate Chorale) and for her headlining appearance in Irving Berlin’s beloved Annie Get Your Gun at the Glimmerglass Festival in Cooperstown. Millions of viewers heard Voigt sing “America the Beautiful” on NBC’s nationwide broadcast of Macy’s Independence Day fireworks show
in 2004, and later that year they witnessed her majestic ride down Broadway in Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. She has also been profiled by many important national media outlets, such as CBS’s 60 Minutes, Good Morning America, and Vanity Fair.
Voigt has given definitive performances of iconic roles in German opera, from Richard Strauss’s Ariadne, Salome, Kaiserin (Die Frau ohne Schatten), and Chrysothemis (Elektra) to Wagner’s Sieglinde (Die Walküre), Elisabeth (Tannhäuser), and Isolde. She is also noted for starring roles in Strauss’s Egyptian Helen, Der Rosenkavalier, and Friedenstag; Wagner’s Lohengrin; Berlioz’s Les Troyens, and Berg’s Wozzeck; and for her portrayals of such popular Italian roles as Tosca, Aida, Amelia (Un ballo in maschera), Leonora (La forza del destino), La Gioconda, and Minnie (La fanciulla del West).
A highly gifted teacher who enjoys working with young artists, as Artistic Advisor to Florida’s Vero Beach Opera, she is involved in repertoire planning, casting, and production, as well as chairing the Deborah Voigt/Vero Beach Opera Foundation’s annual International Vocal Competition. She has also undertaken residencies as WQXR’s inaugural Susan W. Rose Artist-in-Residence and as Artist-in-Residence of both Washington National Opera and Indiana’s University of Notre Dame, where she sang “God Bless America” at a nationally televised football game.