World class lyric soprano Heidi Stober returns to her alma mater for a Lawrence University Artist Series performance Friday, March 13 at 8 p.m. in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel.
Tickets, at $25-30 for adults, $20-25 for seniors and $18-20 for students, are available through the Lawrence Box Office, 920-832-6749.
Her Lawrence performance will be a preview of a March 27 concert at Carnegie Hall and will feature works by Joseph Haydn, Franz Schubert, Richard Strauss, Claude Debussy and Alec Wilder, among others.
Since graduating from Lawrence Conservatory of Music in 2000, Stober has earned critical acclaim for her operatic performances.
Her professional career was launched at the Houston Grand Opera as a last minute replacement — literally 20 minutes before curtain — as Norina, the female lead in “Don Pasquale.” In its review of of the production, the Dallas Morning News raved. “Ah, but then there was Heidi Stober, who – as Norina should – simply took control. Ms. Stober sang and acted up a storm. She tossed off graceful coloratura and set off dramatic sparks that seemed to energize everyone else.”
In a 2012 production of “The Magic Flute,” the San Jose Mercury News hailed Stober’s Pamina, saying, “Her voice is more than beautiful; she penetrates Mozart’s depths. Every time she arrives on stage, Mozart re-emerges in all his richness. In the end, we go to the opera to hear singing; this woman can sing.”
Stober’s first performance with Deutsche Oper Berlin in 2008 earned her a place among the company’s regular cast. She has since appeared in such diverse roles as Micaëla in “Carmen,” Susanna in “La nozze di Figaro,” Gretl in “Hänsel und Gretel” and Nanetta in “Falstaff.”
“Her voice is more than beautiful; she penetrates Mozart’s depths. Every time
she arrives on stage, Mozart re-emerges in all his richness. In the end,
we go to the opera to hear singing; this woman can sing.”
— San Jose Mercury News
Kenneth Bozeman, Frank C. Shattuck Professor of Music and Stober’s former voice teacher at Lawrence, takes great pride in what he calls her “amazing transformation from a beginning student to a mature, highly successful artist, known as much for her truly beautiful sound and secure technical facility as for her versatile, compelling stage presence.
“We couldn’t be prouder to count her as an alum,” added Bozeman, who still works with Stober as her primary teacher as time permits. “It doesn’t hurt that she is also both a gorgeous young woman and a very grounded, humble human being.”
A native of Waukesha, Wis., now living in Berlin, Germany, Stober recently performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under conductor Gustavo Dudamel in the world premiere of Hartke’s Fourth Symphony.
This November, Stober joins operatic luminary Renee Fleming and Grammy Award winner Thomas Hampson as Valencienne in a Lyric Opera of Chicago presentation of The Metropolitan Opera’s production of “The Merry Widow.”
Following her Friday evening performance, Stober will conduct a free and open to the public master class Saturday, March 14 at 10 a.m. in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel.
About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2015 and the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.
