Faith Esham (born August 6, 1948) is an American

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

and college professor of voice.

Life and career

Faith Lou Esham was born in

Portsmouth, Ohio Portsmouth is a city in Scioto County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Located in southern Ohio south of Chillicothe, Ohio, Chillicothe, it lies on the north bank of the Ohio River, across from Kentucky and just east of the mouth of th ...

, and grew up in Vanceburg, Kentucky, the daughter of Dr. Elwood Esham (1905–1985) and Ruth Louise Opfer Esham (1917–2010), a nurse. She graduated in psychology from Columbia Union College in Maryland. She completed study for a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in clinical psychology at Eastern Kentucky University before transferring to the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

where she received her

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

in 1978.Blau, Eleanor (August 22, 1987)
"Faith Esham, Soprano, Communicates by Song"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' Her voice teacher at Juilliard was Beverley Peck Johnson. Esham has sung many roles in opera houses in the United States and Europe. She debuted at the Metropolitan Opera as Marzelline in '' Fidelio''; she returned there to cover the roles of Nedda in ''

Pagliacci ''Pagliacci'' (; literal translation, 'Clowns') is an Italian opera in a prologue and two acts, with music and libretto by Ruggero Leoncavallo. The opera tells the tale of Canio, actor and leader of a commedia dell'arte theatrical company, who mu ...

'' and of Mélisande in '' Pelléas et Mélisande''. Additional roles are: Mimì and Melisande with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Pamina in Washington, D.C., Micaëla and Juliette in Cincinnati, the heroines in '' Les contes d'Hoffmann'', Manon and Gilda in Pittsburgh, Manon, Cendrillon, Marguerite, Leila, Baby Doe, Ännchen, Gilda, and Floyd's Susannah at New York City Opera. As Micaëla, she sang opposite Plácido Domingo and Julia Migenes in the 1984 film '' Carmen'', whose soundtrack won a 1985 Grammy award. She also sang Cherubino and Marzelline at La Scala. She sang Micaëla at the Vienna State Opera and the Opera de Caracas; Marzelline and Cendrillon at Paris' Théâtre du Châtelet, Musetta at Cologne Opera, Germany, Marguerite at the New Israeli Opera and Mélisande in Geneva. She appeared as Susanna and Cherubino in '' The Marriage of Figaro'' at Glyndebourne. In 2000, she joined the faculty of Westminster Choir College of Rider University, where she was an adjunct assistant professor of voice until 2024."Faith Esham"
Rider University

Selected discography

* '' Carmen'' – Micaela (1984) (movie soundtrack album, winner of the 1985

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

for Best Opera Recording) * '' The Marriage of Figaro'' – Cherubino (EMI) * '' The Songs of Charles W. Griffes'' (Musical Heritage Society)

Television

* ''

'' – Nedda (1981) * '' Gianni Schicchi'' – Lauretta (1981) * Live from Lincoln Center ** New York City Opera: '' The Magic Flute'' – Pamina (1987) ** New York City Opera: '' Rigoletto'' – Gilda (1988)

Film

*'' Carmen'' (1984) - soundtrack won 1985 Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording

Awards

* Walter W. Naumburg Award *Concours international de chant de Paris

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Esham, Faith 1948 births Living people Eastern Kentucky University alumni Juilliard School alumni American operatic sopranos Westminster Choir College faculty Rider University faculty American voice teachers People from Vanceburg, Kentucky People from Portsmouth, Ohio Kentucky women musicians Singers from Kentucky American women educators Educators from Kentucky 20th-century American women opera singers Singers from Ohio Classical musicians from Ohio American women music educators Grammy Award winners American women academics 21st-century American women Washington Adventist University alumni