CSUF alumna and international opera star Deborah Voigt will headline the new Performing Arts Center gala Saturday, January 14.

BY GAIL MATSUNAGA

Asked about her background and subsequent career path in opera, CSUF alumna and international opera star Deborah Voigt explains, "I sang primarily gospel music and Broadway show tunes, and it really wasn't until I got to Cal State Fullerton and studied with Jane Paul [professor emeritus of music] ... I thought I was going to be a choral major, study choral conducting.

"Jane started to introduce me to opera and had me singing some classical music, and then encouraged me to start doing different competitions. I think one of the first ones I did was the Music Associates competition.

"I found myself winning them and entering them just as a way to make a little extra money for school, and thought 'Well, there must be something to this if I keep winning these competitions.' So I started down the road, basically while I was at Cal State Fullerton."

And, what a ride it's been, from resounding early career-launching successes with the Boston Lyric and Metropolitan Operas to performances that consistently inspire such critical comments as this review from the New York Times: "Ms. Voigt's singing is as radiant as her sequined cape. Her voice soars effortlessly over the orchestra. Her phrasing is exquisite; her diction and musicianship are flawless."

Voigt is often described as unequalled in her repertoire of operas by Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss, including Wagner's "Tristan und Isolde" and "Die Walküre," and Strauss' "Ariadne auf Naxos," "Elektra" and "Salome." She also has been lauded for her performances in Giuseppe Verdi and Giacomo Puccini operas, and her 2005-06 season reflects this.

Following the release of her second CD, "All My Heart -- Deborah Voigt Sings American Songs," she added a new Italian role to her range in Amilcare Ponchielli's "La Gioconda" in Barcelona this fall. In the spring, Voigt will perform, for the first time, the title role in Puccini's "Tosca," and Leonora in Verdi's "La Forza del destino," both at the Metropolitan Opera.

Among the concerts and recitals in her recent schedule were performances in New York's Avery Fisher Hall, as well as appearances in Boston, Santa Fe and Valencia, Spain. Upcoming appearances are scheduled in Berlin, Moscow and at Carnegie Hall.

Another first will be Voigt's January debut with "Jazz at the Lincoln Center," where the theme of her show will be travel. About her program, which will center on popular music, she says, "I'm excited to be at a point in my career where I have the opportunity to do these sorts of things. I've spent so much time focusing on being an opera singer, that now that I'm able to get back to my roots, I'm really enjoying it. It's really a nice feeling."

In addition to singing leading roles with the world's leading conductors on major stages worldwide, she has earned such honors as France's Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and Musical America's 2003 Vocalist of the Year.

See Images from the Gala »