Christina Pier, soprano

American soprano Christina Pier has been hailed by Opera News for her “big, gleaming soprano and impressive coloratura,” and has received great critical and audience acclaim for her work on opera and concert stages. Recent engagements include Senta in Der fliegende Holländer with Virginia Opera, Poulenc’s Gloria and Barber’s Prayers of Kierkegaard with the Charlottesville Symphony Orchestra, Brahms’ Ein deutches Requiem with the Missoula Symphony Orchestra, and Fauré’s Requiem with the Charlotte Symphony.

A 2003 Grand Finals Winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, Ms. Pier’s opera engagements include the title role in Ariadne auf Naxos with Virginia Opera; Donna Anna in Don Giovanni with Santa Fe Opera, Sarasota Opera, Nashville Opera, and Eugene Opera; Pamina in Die Zauberflöte with Florida Grand Opera; the Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro with Minnesota Opera; Marguerite in Faust with Eugene Opera and Florida Grand Opera; and Micaëla with the Princeton Festival and Florida Grand Opera.

On the concert platform, her recent appearances include Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 with the North Carolina Symphony and Rochester Symphony; Handel’s Messiah with the Indianapolis and Winston-Salem Symphonies; Verdi’s Requiem with the Charlottesville Symphony; Mendelssohn’s Elijah with the Colorado Symphony; Mozart’s Requiem with the Charlotte Symphony and Eugene Symphony; Mendelssohn’s Lobgesang and selections from Beethoven’s Leonore with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra; Mozart’s “Great” Mass in C-minor with the Alabama Symphony; and Ravel’s Shéhérazade with the Hartford Symphony. She has also performed Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Roberto Abbado, recitals under the auspices of the George London Foundation, and concerts with the World Youth Orchestra in Italy and at the General Assembly Hall of the United Nations in New York. She appears as a soloist on a recording of Vaughan Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem, with David Hill and the BBC Singers on the Naxos label.

We just finished rehearsing for tonight's Inside the Classics: Evolution of Opera concert! Here's Christina Pier: https://t.co/wuOotXLIXn

— Minnesota Orchestra (@mn_orchestra) May 20, 2016

Ms. Pier is the recipient of numerous prestigious awards including the George London Foundation Award, Sullivan Musical Foundation Award, two Charles A. Lynam Awards, and two Palm Beach Opera Competition Awards. Originally from Flagstaff, AZ, Ms. Pier received a BM and MM in voice at Indiana University where she studied with Virginia Zeani. She is currently an Artist in Residence at Catawba College, and a Guest Lecturer at University of North Carolina, Charlotte.