Christine Seitz

Dramatic Soprano

Opera Director

Director of Show-Me Opera -- University of Missouri

Christine Seitz is an established dramatic soprano, singing operatic roles throughout the United States and in Europe. She sang the leading role of Anna Clemenc in the world premiere of The Children of the Keweenaw, by composer Paul Seitz and librettist Kathleen Masterson, at the 2001 Pine Mountain Music Festival. Her performances singing the role of Brünnhilde in Wagner's Die Walküre at the University of Wisconsin, Madison earned her high critical acclaim. She has also appeared with Kentucky Opera singing the role of Lady Billows in Britten's Albert Herring, and she has sung the role of Helmwige in Wagner's Die Walküre with both the Florentine Opera of Milwaukee and the Dallas Opera. She sang the title role in Faure's Pénélope in the United States stage premiere with Manhattan Opera in New York City, and she has also appeared with Madison Opera, the Los Angeles Opera, the Seattle Opera, and the Central City Opera. European engagements have included Madame Lidoine in Poulenc's Les Dialogues des Carmelites with the Wuppertaler Bühnen and Amelia in Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera with the Stadttheater Bern. In review of her performance as Lady Macbeth in Verdi's Macbeth with the Toledo Opera, the Detroit Free Press commented, "Seitz has a huge voice which she deployed with consistent confidence and artistry. She has all the earmarks of a major dramatic soprano, a rare species these days."

Ms. Seitz was the guest soloist in a performance of the Immolation Scene from Wagner's Götterdämmerung with the Waukesha Symphony, where she has also appeared as the soprano soloist in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. She was the soprano soloist in an appearance with the Greater Lansing Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Gustav Meier, singing Wagner arias and German operetta excerpts. She has appeared in concert with the Caramoor Festival singing the title role in Beethoven's Leonore (the original version of Fidelio). After noting the success with which she performed the difficult role, the New York Post noted: "Christine Seitz handled (the role) heroically, her full-throated sound filling the large outdoor theater with ease." She has also sung the role of the Marschallin in Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier in concert performances at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and in a special performance with members of the Milwaukee Symphony under the baton of Maestro Kenneth Schermerhorn, she performed arias from the German repertoire. Ms. Seitz also appeared with the Cincinnati May Festival as Leonore in Fidelio, James Conlon conducting. She has appeared with both the Las Vegas Philharmonic and the UNLV Symphony Orchestra, singing works by Vaughan-Williams, Mahler, Beethoven and Mozart, and she was soprano soloist in the world premiere of Treny by UNLV resident composer Virko Baley.

Ms. Seitz launched her opera directing career in 1992, when she became the founding Opera Director for the Pine Mountain Music Festival in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, directing and producing operas there from 1992 through 2002. She has been on the stage directing staff at Des Moines Metro Opera since 2006, and she has been a guest director for the University of Kentucky Opera Theatre, the Florentine Opera of Milwaukee (educational outreach productions), the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Luther College. She was named Director of Show-Me Opera at the University of Missouri in the fall of 2008, and she was Director of the UNLV Opera Theatre at the University of Nevada Las Vegas from 2002 to 2008. She has created original translations and supertitles for productions at the Pine Mountain Music Festival, the Florentine Opera of Milwaukee, the University of Wisconsin Madison, the Dubuque Symphony and the University of Nevada Las Vegas.

Ms. Seitz has sung in numerous recitals in New York City and throughout the Midwest. Her recital with pianist Steven Blier, An Evening of American Song was broadcast over New York public radio station WNYC. Recent recital collaborations with pianist Jessica Paul have included programs titled Of House and Home, To Love, To Dream - Two Recent American Song Cycles, Northern Voyage - Songs of Scandinavia and Lithuania, Beyond the Boundaries - Early 20th Century Vocal Music, The Forces of Nature, Spectres and Saints and Wagner vs. Debussy - Who Won?

Christine Seitz graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a Master of Music degree in applied voice. Currently on the faculty at the University of Missouri, she has previously taught voice and opera at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Luther College. She has presented voice workshops and master classes in Houghton, Michigan, and the University of California-Irvine. She is the Artistic Director of Studio North Opera, a local arts organization in Houghton, Michigan, dedicated to presenting performances of operatic scenes to audiences in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. A native of Madison, Wisconsin, she was a two-time winner of the Eastern Wisconsin Metropolitan Opera District Auditions.

1/2010