EducationBM Northwestern University
MM Curtis Institute of Music
About
American lyric soprano Amanda Majeski is rapidly garnering critical acclaim for a voice of “silvery beauty” (Musical America) that combines “transparent fragility with soulful strength.” (
Chicago Sun-Times)
Ms. Majeski’s 2017-18 season will see her return to the Metropolitan Opera as Fiordiligi in the new production of Mozart’s
Così fan tutte under David Robertson and to Santa Fe Opera for her first performances as the Composer in Richard Strauss’ comic and enchanting
Ariadne auf Naxos. Ms. Majeski will also make three high-profile debuts, first bringing her Mozartean expertise to the Paris Opera as Vitellia in Willy Decker’s acclaimed production of Mozart’s
La clemenza di Tito. She then makes her debut with the Hong Kong Philharmonic as Gutrune in Richard Wagner’s
Götterdämmerung conducted by Jaap van Zweden which will be released commercially on Naxos Records as the final installment of their Ring Cycle. She makes her debut at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, China as Eva in Kasper Holten’s new production of
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg conducted by Myung-Whun Chung. In concert, she returns to Philadelphia for her first performances of Strauss’
Vier letzte Lieder at Verizon Hall with the Curtis Orchestra conducted by Karina Canellakis.
Highlights from last season included Ms. Majeski’s appearance with the Los Angeles Philharmonic last season at the Hollywood Bowl in Ludwig van Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, with conductor Gustavo Dudamel, as well as exalted performances as the Countess in Mozart’s
Le nozze di Figaro at Washington National Opera, Cleopatra in Handel’s
Giulio Cesare at the Teatro Colón (Buenos Aires, Argentina), and as the title role in Stanislaw Moniuszko’s
Halka at the Bard Music Festival. She also debuted two Strauss heroines in the United States after major European successes: the Marschallin in
Der Rosenkavalier at the Lyric Opera of Chicago and Countess Madeleine in
Capriccio at Santa Fe Opera.
Ms. Majeski made her Metropolitan Opera debut on the opening night of the 2014/2015 season as Countess Almaviva in a new production of
Le nozze di Figaro, which was broadcast in HD internationally and on PBS across the United States. An alumna of the Ryan Opera Center, she made her mainstage Lyric debut with only a few hours’ notice as Countess Almaviva conducted by Andrew Davis. Named “Best Breakout Star” by Chicago Magazine, she has since continued her relationship with Lyric audiences as Vitellia in
La clemenza di Tito, Eva in
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, and as Marta in
The Passenger, hailed as a “shattering, star-making performance” by the
Chicago Classical Review.
She made her critically-acclaimed role debut as the Marschallin in Claus Guth’s new production of
Der Rosenkavalier at Oper Frankfurt, where she has also been seen as the Goose-Girl in Humperdinck’s
Königskinder, Vreli in Delius’s
A Village Romeo and Juliet, and the title role in Dvorák’s
Rusalka. Ms. Majeski made her European debut at the Semperoper Dresden where her performances included new productions of
Alcina and
La clemenza di Tito, as well as revivals of
Le nozze di Figaro and
Capriccio. Her significant international debuts include the Glyndebourne Festival as Countess Almaviva and Eva, Opernhaus Zürich as Marguerite in a new production of
Faust, and Teatro Real in Madrid as Vitellia in the much-acclaimed Herrmann production of
La clemenza di Tito. In addition to her work New York and Chicago, she has appeared at Opera Philadelphia as Donna Elvira in
Don Giovanni, Pittsburgh Opera as Blanche de la Force in Poulenc’s
Dialogues des Carmélites, and Santa Fe Opera in Vivaldi’s
Griselda as Ottone in a production by Peter Sellars.
On the concert stage, Ms. Majeski debuted with Sinfonieorchester Aachen singing Berg’s
Sieben frühe Lieder and Mozart’s
Requiem. She has been heard in concert singing Agathe’s arias from
Der Freischütz with conductor Erik Nielsen and the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and the soprano solo in Mahler’s 4th Symphony with the Quad City Symphony. She also sang Gounod’s
Marguerite in concert with Washington Concert Opera under Antony Walker, Bach’s
Magnificat under Sir Gilbert Levine in Chicago, and Mahler’s 4th Symphony with the Richmond Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center. She made her New York City recital debut at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall under the auspices of the Marilyn Horne Foundation and returned for her solo recital debut at Carnegie Hall in 2014.
Ms. Majeski holds degrees from the Curtis Institute of Music and Northwestern University. She was a member of San Francisco Opera’s Merola Program, the Gerdine Young Artist Program at Opera Theatre of St. Louis, and the Steans Institute at Ravinia. Awards include the George London Foundation Award, first prize of the Palm Beach Opera Vocal Competition, and a Sara Tucker Study Grant from the Richard Tucker Foundation.
Learn more on the Voice and Opera Studio page