Cheryl Studer

Cheryl Studer (born October 24, 1955) is an American dramatic soprano who has sung at many of the world's foremost opera houses.

Studer has performed more than eighty roles ranging from the dramatic repertoire to roles more commonly associated with lyric sopranos and coloratura sopranos, and, in her late stage, mezzo-sopranos.

She is particularly known for her interpretations of the works of Richard Strauss and Richard Wagner.

Studer was born in Midland, Michigan, to Carl W. Studer and Elizabeth (born Smith) Studer, as one of three children.

She studied piano and viola as a child, and began voice lessons at age 12 with Gwendolyn Pike, a local opera singer and voice teacher.

She attended Herbert Henry Dow High School, then transferred to the Interlochen Arts Academy for her junior and senior years and graduated from there in 1974.

Following high school, Studer studied at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music but left the program after a year, deciding to move with her family to Tennessee.

Studer won several awards and competitions during this time, including the High Fidelity/Musical America Award in 1977 and the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in 1978.

She continued her studies at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Vocal Performance in 1979.

In the summer of 1979, Studer attended a course for foreign students on the art of the German Lied at the Schubert Institute in Baden bei Wien, Austria.

In this program, Studer's teachers included Irmgard Seefried, Brigitte Fassbaender, and Hans Hotter.

Hotter persuaded Studer to remain in Europe to study further with him at the Hochschule für Musik und darstellende Kunst, Vienna.

Studer studied with Hotter for one year before launching out on her professional career.

In 1979, she won the Franz-Schubert-Institut-Preis for excellence in Lied interpretation.

In 1981, Studer was hired as a permanent member of the Bavarian State Opera by Wolfgang Sawallisch.

She remained with the company for two consecutive seasons, singing mostly minor roles in their productions.

Her lead roles at the Bavarian State Opera included the title role in Carl Maria von Weber's Euryanthe and Mařenka The Bartered Bride.

It was while working with the Bavarian State Opera that Studer was first encouraged to study the works of Richard Wagner and the dramatic soprano repertoire.

Up to this point she had focused mostly on the bel canto repertoire, with her only foray into German repertoire up to that point being through Lieder.

She made her professional opera debut with the company as Helmwige in Wagner's Die Walküre.

At the end of the 1981–82 season, she left the Munich ensemble to join the Staatstheater Darmstadt for two seasons.

In the spring of 1983, Studer took her first major role as Violetta in Verdi's La traviata with the Staatstheater Braunschweig.

This was followed by two more important roles the following summer: Irene in Wagner's Rienzi and Drola in Wagner's Die Feen, under the direction of Wolfgang Sawallisch at the Bavarian State Opera's Summer Music Festival.

In 1984, Studer left the Staatstheater Darmstadt to become a permanent member of the Deutsche Oper Berlin ensemble.

She stayed with the company for two full seasons.

She made her US opera debut the same year with the Lyric Opera of Chicago as Micaëla in Carmen.

In 1985, Studer performed as Elisabeth in Wagner's Tannhäuser under Giuseppe Sinopoli at the Bayreuth Festival.

Positive reviews of this performance quickly led Studer to more prominent leading roles.

In 1986, Studer made her debut at the Liceu as Freia in Wagner's Das Rheingold and her debut at Opéra de Paris as Pamina in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte.

That same year, she made her debut with the San Francisco Opera as Eva in Wagner's Die Meistersinger.

In 1987, Studer made her debut with the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, as Elisabeth in Wagner's Tannhäuser and her debut at La Scala as Donna Anna in Mozart's Don Giovanni.

In 1988, Studer made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Micaëla in Bizet's Carmen.

That same year she returned to La Scala to perform the role of Mathilde in Rossini's William Tell.

She sang Agathe in Carl Maria von Weber's Der Freischütz at the Théâtre Musical de Paris.

In 1989, she made her Vienna State Opera and Salzburg Festival debuts playing the same role, Chrysothemis in Richard Strauss' Elektra.

That same year, Studer received the Grand Prix du Disque – Prix Maria Callas.

Also in 1989, she returned to La Scala to perform the role of La Duchesse Hélène in Verdi's I vespri siciliani and made her debut with the Opera Company of Philadelphia in the title role of Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor.

In 1990, Studer returned to the Metropolitan Opera to sing the role of Donna Anna in Mozart's Don Giovanni.

That same year, Studer sang the role of Elsa in Richard Wagner's Lohengrin at the Vienna State Opera.

In 1991, Studer performed two more roles at the Met, Elettra in Mozart's Idomeneo and Violetta in Verdi's La traviata.