Stephanie Novacek (b.Iowa City,Iowa, 31 August 1970) is an Americanoperaticmezzo-soprano who has appeared at many of the world'sopera houses. A regular performer at theHouston Grand Opera andOpera Atelier, Novacek is especially known for her performances in contemporary operas and in obscure operas, particularlybaroque works, outside of the standard repertory.Opera News has described her voice as a "rich, seamless flow of solid silk" and an actress "with always a strong presence on stage".[1]
Novacek studied voice at theUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (M. Mus. 1995) and began her career in 1996 as a member of the Young Artist Programs at theSanta Fe Opera inNew Mexico and theHouston Grand Opera (HGO) inTexas.[2][3] She made her professional opera debut that year as The Page of Herodias inRichard Strauss'sSalome with HGO and her career has largely been based with that company ever since. With Santa Fe Opera she appeared in productions ofStravinsky'sThe Rake's Progress,Puccini'sMadama Butterfly, and the world premiere ofTobias Picker'sEmmeline as a member of the chorus during the summer of 1996.[4]
With HGO Novacek created the roles ofMaria Callas inMichael Daugherty'sJackie O in 1997 and Jo March inMark Adamo'sLittle Women in 1998.[5] Her role in the latter received particular praise from critic Matthew Gurewitsch of theNew York Times stating, "In Stephanie Novacek's portrayal of Jo March, Mr. Adamo's heroine, a star was born." Novacek appears on CD recordings of both operas and her performance of Jo March was recorded for DVD and broadcast onPBS'sGreat Performances in 2001.[6] Novacek's many other roles with HGO include Hänsel inHumperdinck'sHänsel und Gretel, Messaggera inMonteverdi'sL'Orfeo, Marcellina inMozart'sLe nozze di Figaro, Siebel inGounod'sFaust, Maddalena inVerdi'sRigoletto, Olga inTchaikovsky'sEugene Onegin, Suzuki in Puccini'sMadama Butterfly and the title role inBizet'sCarmen among others.[4][5]
The recipient of numerous honors, Novacek was awarded a Richard F. Gold Career Grant in 1997 by theShoshana Foundation,[7] aSullivan Foundation Grant in 1999, and in 2000 she won aRichard Tucker Career Grant.[8] In 2001 she was chosen to be America's representative to the prestigiousBBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition.[5] She was nominated for aDora Mavor Moore Award in 2002 for her portrayal of the title role inMarc-Antoine Charpentier'sMédée withOpera Atelier.[9]
Novacek has also made appearances with several other notable opera companies and ensembles. She sang both Dido and the Sorceress inHenry Purcell'sDido and Æneas with theMark Morris Dance Group at theBrooklyn Academy of Music in 1998.[10] That same year she made her European debut at theZurich Opera singing The Page of Herodias.[4] In 1999 she made her debut with theWashington National Opera as Enrichetta inVincenzo Bellini'sI puritani and sang the roles of Baba the Turk in Stravinsky'sThe Rake's Progress and the Third Lady in Mozart'sDie Zauberflöte with theWolf Trap Opera Company.[11] In 2000 she made her debut with theOpera Company of Philadelphia and theCincinnati Opera as The Page of Herodias in Richard Strauss'sSalome[12] and she portrayed Dinah inLeonard Bernstein'sTrouble in Tahiti in a film version made by theBBC Wales. In 2001 she made her debut with theCanadian Opera Company as Ottavia inL'incoronazione di Poppea, a role she also performed with HGO that year.
In 2004 Novacek sang the role of Anner inVirgil Thomson'sThe Mother of Us All in her debut with theSan Francisco Opera[13] and made her debut withGrand Théâtre de Genève as Alyeya inLeoš Janáček'sFrom the House of the Dead.[14] That same year she performed and recorded the role of Cassiope inJean-Baptiste Lully'sPersée with Opera Atelier for both CD and DVD, and she sang the role of Madame in the United States premiere ofPeter Bengston'sThe Maids with Cincinnati Opera.[15] In 2005 she sang the role of Suzuki in Puccini'sMadama Butterfly in her debut at theRoyal Opera House,Covent Garden[16] and the title role in Lully'sArmide with Opera Atelier.[17]
In 2006 Novacek appeared in recital atCarnegie Hall with composersRicky Ian Gordon andJake Heggie who played their own works on thepiano while she sang.[18] That same year she sang the role of Laura inAlexander Dargomyzhsky'sThe Stone Guest with theAmerican Symphony Orchestra under conductorLeon Botstein atAvery Fisher Hall,[19] performed the role of Maddalena withMadison Opera,[20] portrayed Messaggera in Monteverdi'sOrfeo with Opera Atelier,[21] and sang the role of Annina inRichard Strauss'sDer Rosenkavalier in her debut with theLyric Opera of Chicago.[22] In 2007 she returned to Opera Atelier to portray the role of Penelope inClaudio Monteverdi'sIl ritorno d'Ulisse in patria.[23] In 2008 she sang the role of Marcellina in Mozart'sLe nozze di Figaro withAtlanta Opera.
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