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

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female 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 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

and college professor of voice.

Life and career

Faith Lou Esham was born in Portsmouth, Ohio, 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 in clinical psychology at Eastern Kentucky University before transferring to the Juilliard School where she received her master's degree in music in 1978.Blau, Eleanor (August 22, 1987)
"Faith Esham, Soprano, Communicates by Song"
'' The New York Times'' Her voice teacher at Juilliard was

Beverley Peck Johnson Beverley Peck Johnson (June 12, 1904 – January 20, 2001) was an American voice teacher, soprano, and pianist who taught on the faculties of several institutions, including Manhattan School of Music and The Juilliard School. Her pupils included ...

. 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 m ...

'' 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 Juliette is a feminine personal name of French origin. It is a diminutive of Julie. Notable people *Juliette (Canadian singer) (1926-2017), full name Juliette Augustina Sysak Cavazzi, Canadian singer and TV personality of the 1950s-1970s. known ...

in Cincinnati, the heroines in '' Les contes d'Hoffmann'',

Manon ''Manon'' () is an ''opéra comique'' in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Philippe Gille, based on the 1731 novel '' L'histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut'' by the Abbé Prévost. It was first ...

and Gilda in Pittsburgh, Manon,

Cendrillon ''Cendrillon'' (''Cinderella'') is an opera—described as a "fairy tale"—in four acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Caïn based on Perrault's 1698 version of the Cinderella fairy tale. It had its premiere performance on 24 ...

, Marguerite,

Leila Leila may refer to: *Leila (name), a female given name, including a list of people with the name and its variants Film and television * ''Leila'' (1997 film), an Iranian film * ''Leïla'' (2001 film), a Danish film * ''Leila'' (TV series), a ...

, Baby Doe, Ännchen, Gilda, and Floyd's

Susannah ''Susannah'' is an opera in two acts by the American composer Carlisle Floyd, who wrote the libretto and music while a member of the piano faculty at Florida State University. Floyd adapted the story from the Apocryphal tale of Susanna (Book of D ...

at New York City Opera. As Micaëla, she sang opposite Plácido Domingo and Julia Migenes in the 1984 film ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...

'', whose soundtrack won a 1985

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

award. She also sang Cherubino and Marzelline at

La Scala La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performan ...

. 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 The Israeli Opera, formerly known as the New Israeli Opera, is the principal opera company of Israel. It was founded in 1985 after lack of Israeli government funding led to the demise of the Israel National Opera. Since 1994 the Tel Aviv Performin ...

and Mélisande in Geneva. She appeared as Susanna and Cherubino in ''

The Marriage of Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' ( it, Le nozze di Figaro, links=no, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premie ...

'' at Glyndebourne. In 2000 she joined the faculty of Westminster Choir College of Rider University, where she is an adjunct assistant professor of voice."Faith Esham"
Rider University

Selected discography

* ''

'' (1984) (movie soundtrack album) * ''

'' – 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

*''

'' (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 Voice teachers People from Vanceburg, Kentucky People from Portsmouth, Ohio Kentucky women musicians Singers from Kentucky Kentucky women in education 20th-century American women opera singers Singers from Ohio Classical musicians from Ohio Women music educators American women academics 21st-century American women