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Copyright © 2002-2004 Stephanie Dawn Johnson

STEPHANIE DAWN JOHNSON
Soprano
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OPERA ENGAGEMENTS (* upcoming performances)
Madame Lidoine (cover) Dialogues of the Carmelites, Poulenc Glimmerglass Opera, 2002*
Donna Elvira Don Giovanni, Mozart Duke University Symphony, 2002*
Mimi/Musetta La Boheme, Puccini Bloomington Chamber Opera, 2002*
Marenka The Bartered Bride, Smetana Indiana University Opera Theater, 2002*
Fiordiligi Cosě fan tutte, Mozart San Francisco Opera Western Opera Theater, 2001
Donna Anna Don Giovanni, Mozart Indianapolis Opera, 2001
Marguerite Faust, Gounod Indiana University Opera Theater, 2001
Queen Elizabeth Gloriana, Britten (Act I) Central City Opera in the Rockies Tour, 2000
Isabelle/Madeline Face on the Barroom Floor, Mollicone Central City Opera in the Rockies Tour, 2000
Violetta La Traviata, Verdi Central City Opera (Matinee Performance), 2000
Isabelle/Madeline Face on the Barroom Floor, Mollicone Central City Opera, 2000
Lady Billows (cover) Albert Herring, Britten San Francisco Opera Center, 2000
Miss Wordsworth (cover) Albert Herring, Britten San Francisco Opera Center, 2000
Donna Anna Don Giovanni, Mozart San Francisco Opera Western Opera Theater, 1999
Donna Elvira (cover) Don Giovanni, Mozart San Francisco Opera Merola Opera Program, 1999
Lauretta Gianni Schicchi, Puccini Indianapolis Opera, 1999
Lauretta Buoso's Ghost, Ching Indianapolis Opera, 1999
Electra Idomeneo, Mozart Indiana University Opera Theater, 1998
Karolka Jenufa, Janácek Cincinnati Opera, 1998
Violetta (cover) La Traviata, Verdi Cincinnati Opera, 1998
Jenufa (understudy) Jenufa, Janácek Cincinnati Opera, 1998
Countess Almaviva The Marriage of Figaro, Mozart Indiana University Opera Theater, 1998
Violetta La Traviata, Verdi Indiana University Opera Theater, 1997
Donna Anna Don Giovanni, Mozart Indiana University Opera Theater, 1996
Queen Elizabeth Gloriana, Britten (Act III) Indiana University Opera Workshop, 1995
RECITAL AND CONCERT ENGAGEMENTS
Recital Peace Center for the Performing Arts, 2002*
Young American Artist Recital Glimmerglass Opera, 2002*
Salon Recital Central City Opera, 2000
Requiem, Verdi Carmel Symphony Orchestra/Anderson Symphony Orchestra, 1999
Gloria, Vivaldi Indiana University, 1998
The Creation, Haydn Carmel Symphony Orchestra/Anderson Symphony Orchestra, 1998
Magnificat, Bach Indiana University, 1997
Ninth Symphony, Beethoven Indiana University, 1996
SELECTED AWARDS
San Francisco Opera/Merola Opera Program Career Grant, 2000, 2001
Palm Beach Opera Anton Guadagno Vocal Competition-Professional Division 7th Place, 2001
Richard F. Gold Career Grant, 2000
MET National Council Auditions: Southeastern Regional Finalist, 2000, 2002 (regionals on 2/17/02); Tri-State Regional Finalist, 1999, 1998
MacAllister Competition College Division - Semi-Finalist, 1998
EDUCATION AND TRAINING
Degrees: Performer Diploma in Professional Opera Studies, Indiana University, 2000-2001; Master of Music in Voice, cum laude, Indiana University, 1999; Bachelor of Music in Voice, cum laude, Furman University, 1994
Training Programs: Glimmerglass Opera Young American Artist, 2002*; Central City Opera Apprentice Artist, 2000; Merola Opera Program-San Francisco Opera Center, 1999; Cincinnati Opera Association Young Artist Program, 1998
Voice Teachers: Costanza Cuccaro, Trudy Hines Fuller, Virginia Zeani
Coaches/Masterclasses: Gary Arvin, Kathy Cathcart, Davis Hart, Bill Lewis, Mark Morash; Regine Crespin, Warren Jones
Conductors: Thomas Baldner, Scott Bergeson, John Baril, James Caraher, David Effron, Hal France, John Moriarty, Steven Osgood, Imre Palló, Ari Pelto, Robert Porco, Ian Robertson, Martin Turnovsky
Directors: Nicola Bowie, Ken Cazan, Mark R. Clark, Dorothy Danner, Michael Ehrman, Jay Lesenger, Vincent Liotta, Lotfi Mansouri, Nicholas Muni, Michael Scarola

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH"A most promising young artist with drama welded to her voice"
Stephanie Dawn Johnson, a native of Greenville, South Carolina, has appeared in oratorio, concert, and opera performances throughout the country. Ms. Johnson's most recent credits include Donna Anna in Mozart’s Don Giovanni with the San Francisco Opera's Western Opera Theater and Lauretta in Puccini's Gianni Schicchi and Michael Ching's Buoso's Ghost with the Indianapolis Opera. During the summer of 1998, she performed Karolka in Janacek's Jenůfa, Violetta in Verdi's La Traviata (cover & preview), and Jenůfa in Janacek's Jenůfa (understudy & preview) with the Cincinnati Opera. She has also sung Violetta in Verdi's La Traviata, Electra in Mozart's Idomeneo, Donna Anna in Mozart's Don Giovanni, and Countess Almaviva in Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro with the Indiana University Opera Theater.In addition to her theatrical stage appearances, Ms. Johnson performs frequently as an oratorio soloist. Her concert performances have included works such as Verdi’s Requiem, Vivaldi's Gloria, Haydn's The Creation, Bach's Magnificat, and Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.Ms. Johnson is a 1997 and 1998 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Tri-State Regional Finalist. She was recently named a winner of the 1999 South Carolina District MET competition. Ms. Johnson was also a semi-finalist in the 1998 MacAllister Competition.
Future engagements for Ms. Johnson include performances of Donna Anna in Don Giovanni with the Indianapolis Opera as well as cover assignments for the San Francisco Opera Center’s production of Britten’s Albert Herring. Directed by Lotfi Mansouri, she will cover the roles of Lady Billows and Miss Wordsworth. During Central City Opera's 2000 season, Ms. Johnson will perform the Youth Performance of Violetta in La Traviata as well as performances of Isabel/Madeline in The Face on the Barroom Floor.Ms. Johnson recently completed a Masters of Music degree in Voice at the Indiana University School of Music where she studied with renowned soprano, Virginia Zeani. She also completed a Bachelor of Music degree in Voice Performance at Furman University where she studied with Trudy Hines Fuller. In 1999 Ms. Johnson was a participant in the Merola Opera Program with the San Francisco Opera Center. She has also appeared as a young artist with the Cincinnati Opera.

Career
This page is currently being revised.Electra, Idomeneo - Indiana University Opera Theater (1998)
"Casts perform well, despite difficulty of Mozart's work""On opening night Friday, all four of the major singers excelled. . . . The evening's Ilia and Electra were crowd pleasers, and deservedly so. . . . Daunting vocal intricacies appeared to pose little problem for Stephanie Johnson, the evening's red-wigged Electra, . . . Johnson is a most promising young artist with drama welded to her voice"
Peter Jacobi, The Herald-Times
Violetta, La Traviata - Indiana University Opera Theater (1997)
"Soprano Stephanie Johnson achieves success as Violetta"
"First, one chooses the soprano. There has to be the right one.
Granted, a lot of non-consumptive-looking sopranos have sung the role of the courtesan Violetta . . . successfully. But the assumer of the part must somehow fit the role.
And that's where the opening night performance of the IU Opera Theater's current production had a winner. . . . in Stephanie Johnson, this Traviata had a Violetta a listener and viewer could believe in."
"She achieved the bearing and the dignity and the fragility and the innate goodness that mark a Violetta. Fleeting joy and suffering suffused Johnson's voice and manner. She seemed to forget her own being and come to inhabit that of the heroine who has made this Verdi opera such a lasting favorite.
Such an accomplishment for one so young is remarkable, but as every achieving soprano in this part must, Johnson entered into the character; she commanded both music and meaning. Not even the double aria which ends act one appeared to cause her any problems. . . . Johnson got through this tour de force ever so fluidly.
She was no less successful during the heartbreak of sacrifice which dominates the second act. Her voice throbbed with poignancy. And she gave high drama to the closing act's aria of regret and farewell . . .
Johnson was a splendid Violetta."
Peter Jacobi, The Herald-Times
"Stephanie Johnson made a first-rate Violetta . . . . enjoyable to work with. . . . Stephanie really caught the drama, the flow, the heartbeat."
Peter Jacobi, The Herald-Times (interview with conductor Imre Pallo)
Karolka, Jenufa - Cincinnati Opera (1998)
" . . . persuasively sung, dramatically overwhelming. . . . The minor character roles were well realized."
Charles H. Parsons, Opera (November 1998)
" . . . the performances approached perfection. . . . Smaller roles were well sung and finely characterized . . ."
Charles H. Parsons, Opera News (November 1998)
Countess Almaviva, The Marriage of Figaro - Indiana University Opera Theater (1998)
"The opening night cast was first-rate . . . Every [aria] was sung with distinction, musically and to the topical or symbolic point. . . . Stephanie Johnson's Countess gave the contemplative "Dove sono," all the necessary heartbreak to be found in a troubled partner of a marriage breaking down. . . . All of these singers melded into their roles and fused as musicians into the melodic web Mozart spun so tenaciously and yet so gorgeously."
Peter Jacobi, The Herald-Times"Stephanie Johnson beautifully executed the Countess's lovely arias."
Nikolai Sadik-Ogli, Indiana Daily Student
Donna Anna, Don Giovanni - Indiana University Opera Theater (1996)
"Stephanie Johnson . . . [was] well-schooled and managed almost faultlessly the intricacies of the music Mozart reserved for these Giovanni abused ladies. And [she] . . . certainly sang and acted to the dramatic point."
Peter Jacobi, The Herald-Times