Celena Shafer is an American soprano, born c. 1975 in Centerville,

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its ...

Career

At age 17, Shafer won a vocal competition at the

Utah State Fair The Utah State Fair is held at the Utah State Fairpark in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The fairgrounds are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The fair takes place each year starting on the first Thursday after Labor Da ...

, and was selected to sing with the Utah Symphony orchestra in their ''Salute to Youth'' concert. After graduating from

Viewmont High School Viewmont High School is a public high school located in Bountiful, Utah. The school is a member of the Davis School District. The principal, as of 2021, is Travis Lund. In 2011, VHS was identified by ''Newsweek'' magazine and the ''Washington ...

, she enrolled in the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of D ...

, where she continued her vocal study. After graduation, she enrolled in the Santa Fe opera apprentice program, further developing her

coloratura Coloratura is an elaborate melody with runs, trills, wide leaps, or similar virtuoso-like material,''Oxford American Dictionaries''.Apel (1969), p. 184. or a passage of such music. Operatic roles in which such music plays a prominent part, a ...

skills in roles as Marie ('' La Fille du Régiment)'' and Gilda (''

Rigoletto ''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play ''Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had cont ...

''). In 1999, Shafer won the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is operat ...

National Council of Auditions, Utah district. She is also the recipient of a 2000 Sara Tucker Study Grant from the Richard Tucker Foundation. After a performance in Mozart's '' Mitridate, re di Ponto'' singing the role of Princess Ismene with the Santa Fe Opera in the summer of 2001, Shafer was the recipient of the 2002 Recognizing Individual Artistry Award, an honor given annually by the Thomas Foundation. The same year, she sang the role of Aithra in the New York concert performance of Strauss' '' Die ägyptische Helena'', alongside

Deborah Voigt Deborah Voigt (born August 4, 1960) is an American dramatic soprano who has sung roles in operas by Wagner and Richard Strauss. Biography and career Early life and education Debbie Joy Voigt was born into a religious Southern Baptist family ...

, who had the title role. This performance was later released on CD. During the 2004–05 season, she debuted with the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

in a performance of Handel's ''

Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...

''. In April 2005, she sang the title role of '' Esclarmonde'' at the Washington Concert Opera. Other roles include Tytania in ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict ...

'', Nanetta in ''

Falstaff Sir John Falstaff is a fictional character who appears in three plays by William Shakespeare and is eulogised in a fourth. His significance as a fully developed character is primarily formed in the plays '' Henry IV, Part 1'' and ''Part 2'', wh ...

'', Hero in Berlioz's ''

Beatrice and Benedict Beatrice may refer to: * Beatrice (given name) Places In the United States * Beatrice, Alabama, a town * Beatrice, Humboldt County, California, a locality * Beatrice, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Beatrice, Indiana, an unincorporated c ...

'', Zerbinetta in a concert performance of ''

Ariadne auf Naxos (''Ariadne on Naxos''), Opus number, Op. 60, is a 1912 opera by Richard Strauss with a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. The opera's unusual combination of elements of low commedia dell'arte with those of high opera seria points up one o ...

'', Blonde in ''

The Abduction from the Seraglio ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

'', Adele in ''

Die Fledermaus ' (, ''The Flittermouse'' or ''The Bat'', sometimes called ''The Revenge of the Bat'') is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée, which premiered in 1874. Background The original li ...

'', and ''

Show Boat ''Show Boat'' is a musical theatre, musical with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based on Edna Ferber's best-selling 1926 Show Boat (novel), novel of the same name. The musical follows the lives of the pe ...

'' for a gala benefit for Carnegie Hall.

References

Biography on Celena Shafer at ''Colbert Artists Management Inc.''New York Philharmonic and Celena Shafer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shafer, Celena 1970s births American operatic sopranos People from Centerville, Utah University of Utah alumni Living people 21st-century American women opera singers Singers from Utah Classical musicians from Utah