Celena Shafer
Praised for her silvery radiant voice, fearlessly committed acting and phenomenal technique, soprano Celena Shafer is recognized as one of the leading artists of her generation garnering great acclaim for her operatic, orchestral, and recital performances.
The 2008/09 season includes Ravel’s L’Enfant et les Sortileges with the New York Philharmonic and Lorin Maazel at Carnegie Hall, The Creation with the Phoenix Symphony and Michael Christie, and Orff’s Carmina Burana with the Oklahoma City Philharmonic. After a two-year absence, Ms. Shafer returns to the operatic stage as Norina in Don Pasquale with Utah Symphony & Opera.
In the 2007/08 season Celena Shafer debuted with the St. Louis Symphony as Marzelline in concert performances of Beethoven’s Fidelio conducted by David Robertson, and with the Seattle Symphony for Handel’s Messiah. Return engagements included the Phoenix Symphony for the Brahms German Requiem conducted by Michael Christie, the New York Philharmonic for Handel’s Messiah with Nicholas McGegan, and the Madison Symphony for the Rossini Stabat Mater led by John DeMain, as well as a recital at Bringham Young University. During the summer of 2008 Ms. Shafer performed Magnolia in Jerome Kern’s Show Boat at Carnegie Hall, a gala evening with Paul Gemignani and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, and appeared in chamber music of Bach and Handel with Music@Menlo in California.
Highlights from past seasons include her New York Philharmonic debut in Handel’s Messiah with Alan Gilbert, and returns for Mozart’s Coronation Mass and also the Brahms German Requiem, both led by Loren Maazel; a debut with the Chicago Symphony in Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 led by Michael Tilson Thomas and a return for the Brahms German Requiem with Kent Nagano; her Carnegie Hall debut in Mozart’s Requiem with Donald Runnicles and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s; a Los Angeles Philharmonic debut in the Mozart Requiem led by Christoph von Dohnányi, Mozart’s Mass in C Minor with the Kansas City Symphony and Nicholas McGegan; her debut with the Pittsburgh Symphony and the Philadelphia Orchestra in Handel’s Messiah and with the San Francisco Symphony in Carmina Burana.
Operatic highlights include Johanna in a new production of Sweeney Todd for her Lyric Opera of Chicago debut, Aithra in Die Aegyptische Helena with the American Symphony Orchestra which was recorded and released on Telarc, Zerbinetta in a concert performance of Ariadne auf Naxos with the Radio Filharmonisch Orkest Holland at the Concertgebouw, Nanetta in Falstaff with Los Angeles Opera, Gilda in a new production of Rigoletto with the Welsh National Opera, the title role in Esclarmonde with the Washington Concert Opera, and Ismene in Mitridate, Hero in Beatrice and Benedict, and Giunia in Lucio Silla with the Santa Fe Opera.
Ms. Shafer, a Utah native, appears regularly with the Utah Symphony & Opera, where she debuted as Adele in Die Fledermaus in 2002 and has returned for Tytania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Lisette in La Rondine. Orchestral performances include the Brahms Requiem, Bach’s Wedding cantata no. 202 Weichet nur, betrubte Schatten and selected Handel oratorio arias conducted by Keith Lockhart, the Poulenc Gloria led by Raymond Leppard, and the Vivaldi Gloria, and Bach’s Magnificat and Cantata BWV 51, Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen led by Bernard Labadie.
Recital appearances included the Libby Gardner Virtuoso Series at the University of Utah and the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory.
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