Biography
Soprano Deborah Selig is quickly gaining recognition for her rich, shimmering voice, excellent artistic instincts and fine execution of the lyric soprano repertoire. For her recent Susanna (Le Nozze di Figaro), the New London Day hailed Ms. Selig as “…the star throughout…” and added “....her sense of line and nuance were matched only by the sheer beauty of her tone and power of projection.” Her recent Zerlinas (Don Giovanni) were described by the Wexford News as “…purely charming...” while the Cincinnati Enquirer wrote, “Deborah Selig was absolutely stunning as the peasant bride…”
A native of Washington, DC, Ms. Selig has performed operatic roles with a number of US companies including Dayton Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Central City Opera, Mobile Opera and Connecticut Lyric Opera. In concert, she has sung with Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, Cincinnati Baroque, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Kentucky Symphony Orchestra, Greater Bridgeport Symphony, Erie Philharmonic, Chatham Baroque, CCM Chamber Orchestra, and Tanglewood Festival Orchestra. Ms. Selig has also performed with the prestigious Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Program and joined Pittsburgh Opera for a two-year residency as a member of the Pittsburgh Opera Center from 2007-2009.
Ms. Selig’s full performance schedule has included excellent successes in recent seasons. She has performed Susanna (Le Nozze di Figaro) for Connecticut Lyric Opera, Zerlina (Don Giovanni) for Central City Opera, Valencienne (The Merry Widow) for Mobile Opera, Adele (Die Fledermaus) and Amy (Little Women) for Dayton Opera, and Mary Warren (The Crucible) and Hodel (Fiddler on the Roof) for Chautauqua Opera. Additionally, she has covered Abigail (The Crucible) and Marion (The Music Man) for Chautauqua Opera. In 2007, Ms. Selig performed Tessa in Trinity, a new John Kennedy opera, on Santa Fe Opera’s spring tour and then covered Musetta (La Bohème) for the company’s summer season. Assignments for Ms. Selig in the 2007-2008 Season for Pittsburgh Opera included Giannetta (L’elisir d’amore), High Priestess (Aida), and Tina in Jonathan Dove’s Flight. She added cover assignments of Giulietta (I Capuleti ed I Montecchi) and Adina (L’Elisir d’Amore) with the company. Upcoming engagements include Rose (Street Scene) for Chautauqua Opera and Nannetta (Falstaff) with Opera Roanoke. The 2008-9 season with Pittsburgh Opera includes Norina (Don Pasquale), Elvira (L’Italiana in Algieri) and cover assignments of Musetta (La Bohème) and Rosasharn (Grapes of Wrath). In addition, Ms. Selig will perform Ricky Ian Gordon’s song cycle Orpheus and Euridice for Soprano, clarinet, and piano as a part of Pittsburgh Opera’s mini-festival of the composer’s work fall 2008.
On the concert stage, Ms. Selig has performed Handel’s Messiah, Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Mozart’s Mass in C Minor, Fauré’s Requiem, and Górecki’s Symphony of Sorrowful Songs with various orchestras in the US. In recital, Ms. Selig has sung Hugo Wolf’s Italienisches Liederbuch with baritone Jesse Blumberg and pianist Martin Katz in both Ann Arbor, Michigan and Cincinnati, Ohio.
Ms. Selig’s received her graduate training at the prestigious Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM), where she received an Artist Diploma in Opera and a Master of Music in 2006 and 2004, respectively. During her four years there, she performed Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro, Sandrina in La Finta Giardiniera, Gretel in Hansel and Gretel and Zerlina in Don Giovanni. She has also trained as an apprentice artist and studio artist with Chautauqua Opera, as a fellow at the distinguished Tanglewood Music Center, and has attended the Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Siena and the Bay View Music Festival. Other roles as part of her training include Clorinda in La Cenerentola, Foreign Woman in The Consul, Gianetta in The Gondoliers, and Yum-Yum in The Mikado. She is a 2002 summa cum laude graduate of the University of Michigan with degrees in Voice Performance and English.
Ms. Selig was awarded the Shoshana Foundation Richard F. Gold Career Grant from Chautauqua Opera and the Agnes M. Canning Memorial Award from Santa Fe Opera. In addition, she has won the Southern Ohio district Metropolitan Opera Competition, the Corinne Maffei Award from the Connecticut Opera Guild competition and 2nd place in the National Opera Association Competition.
Copyright 2007 by Deborah Selig, All Rights Reserved
