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Biography
As a performer, the soprano has distinguished herself as an artist of great versatility. In addition to being the recipient of national awards such as the 2020 Honored Artist of The American Prize for outstanding contributions to the arts, and the Johnny Mercer Award, Steyer has received acclaim for her portrayals of the title role in Madama Butterfly and Violetta in La Traviata. Since 2000, she has sung as a chorister and in several small roles in over 40 productions at Lyric Opera of Chicago.
A frequent recitalist, Steyer sang several concerts of Russian and American music with pianist Philip Morehead and concerts of Spanish music with guitarist Brandon Acker. In 2019 Steyer sang in France with The Chicago Paris Cabaret Connexion at the Montpellier Opera House, Paris' Salle Olympe de Gouges and the Lapin Agile. Just prior to the pandemic, she sang at the Schubert Festival at Unity Temple, in Oak Park, where Steyer shared the stage with Lawrence Brownlee and members of the Chicago Symphony and Lyric Opera of Chicago Orchestras, and a recital at The 19th Century Club Music of Hope and Healing. Steyer was recently featured on WFMT’s program Music Notes: Music of Healing and Peace singing the sing “Red is a Trick”. In April 2021, Steyer premiered the role of the Rio de Janeiro Health Care Worker in the new opera On Call: COVID-19. She will the debut the role of Flanna in the world premiere of the new opera Future Perfect by David Shenton.
As a music advocate, Steyer has brought classical music to 23,000 youth in underserved areas with her organization, Bellissima Opera Outreach. She collaborates with other professional musicians to create new works on relevant, contemporary themes. Her songbook, Six Songs for Soprano, was co-written with several area musicians. She and French composer, Jean-Claude Orfali, are writing a book of original cabaret songs to release in 2023.
In 2014 Steyer, as librettist, and Shenton, as composer, began writing Bellissima Opera’s Tales of Transcendence: an award-winning series of new operas exploring our shared humanity. The first, On Call: COVID-19, honoring healthcare workers premiered in April. The second, Future Perfect, co-created with 1300 local students, will have its world premiere in Chicago June 23-26, 2022, at the new Kehrein Center for the Arts .
Additionally, Steyer is the President of the new vocal arts alliance, Working in Concert, as well as the Artistic Director of its Bellissima Opera initiative.
Steyer teaches voice privately in Oak Park and is on the music faculty at Concordia University in River Forest, Illinois.
There are no productions for this artist in the Season Schedule of Performances which currently only dates back to 1991.
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Artist Information
All information is derived from OPERA America's Season Schedule of Performances and titles databases which date back to 1991. OPERA America is constantly updating this data. If you feel that a work or an artist has been omitted or that information is incorrect, please use the linked forms below. Title Information Form Artist Information Form
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