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SIEBEL - Faust
Julianna is elated to perform as Siebel in the Academy of Vocal Arts’ production of Gounod’s Faust under the baton of Steven White and direction of Chas Rader-Shieber.
a bit about me!
Mezzo-soprano Julianna Smith is a current Resident Artist at the Academy of Vocal Arts. She will perform as Siebel in Gounod’s Faust this coming season. A recent graduate of the Master of Music program at Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music, she appeared as Dorabella/Così fan tutte, Hänsel/Hänsel und Gretel, Ruggiero/Alcina, and Zweite Dame/Die Zauberflöte. She recently collaborated with Jake Heggie for the preview concert of his new opera, Before It All Goes Dark. This past summer as a Studio Artist at the Aspen Music Festival, Smith covered Hänsel/Hänsel und Gretel, performed as Zita/Gianni Schicchi, and sang Siegrune in Act III of Die Walküre alongside Christine Goerke and Greer Grimsley. Smith is a previous vocal fellow of the Manetti Shrem Opera Program and a Studio Artist with Opera Neo. She has received awards from the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, the Camille Coloratura Awards, the Orpheus Vocal Competition, the Grand Concours Vocal Competition, the Hal Leonard Theater Competition, and the Musicians Club of Women. Smith is from Towson, Maryland and holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Maryland.
HÄNSEL UND GRETEL - NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY 2024
“Both singers succeeded in bringing a youthful physicality to their roles; Smith [...] eased into a juvenescent impishness that perfectly suited Hänsel’s bluster in Act 2.
[...] Where some productions lean into the libretto’s quarrelsome banter between the siblings, these players took a sweeter approach in both their staging and musical interplay. Their duet singing was magnificent, with Smith and Fleischmann blending beautifully in the Evening Prayer and the third act’s “Bleib stehn! Bleib stehn!” upon the reveal of the witch’s house.”
-Chicago Classical Review
