Faith Esham (born August 6, 1948) is an American soprano and college professor of voice.

Life and career

Faith Lou Esham was born in

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

, and grew up in

Vanceburg, Kentucky Vanceburg is a home rule-class city in Lewis County, Kentucky, United States, along the Ohio River. The population was 1,518 at the 2010 census and estimated in 2018 to be 1,395. It is the county seat of Lewis County. Vanceburg is part of the ...

, 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 Washington Adventist University is a private Seventh-day Adventist university in Takoma Park, Maryland. History Washington Adventist University was established in 1904 by the Seventh-day Adventist Church as Washington Training College. ...

in Maryland. She completed study for a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an 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 practice.

in clinical psychology at

Eastern Kentucky University Eastern Kentucky University (Eastern or EKU) is a public university in Richmond, Kentucky. As a regional comprehensive institution, EKU also maintains branch campuses in Corbin, Hazard, Lancaster, and Manchester and offers over 40 online u ...

before transferring to the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most elit ...

where she received her

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...

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

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' 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 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 oper ...

as Marzelline in ''

Fidelio ''Fidelio'' (; ), originally titled ' (''Leonore, or The Triumph of Marital Love''), Op. 72, is Ludwig van Beethoven's only opera. The German libretto was originally prepared by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly, wi ...

''; she returned there to cover the roles of Nedda in '' Pagliacci'' and of Mélisande in '' Pelléas et Mélisande''. Additional roles are: Mimì and Melisande with the

Lyric Opera of Chicago Lyric Opera of Chicago is one of the leading opera companies in the United States. It was founded in Chicago in 1954, under the name 'Lyric Theatre of Chicago' by Carol Fox, Nicola Rescigno and Lawrence Kelly, with a season that included Maria ...

, Pamina in Washington, D.C., Micaëla and Juliette in Cincinnati, the heroines in ''

Les contes d'Hoffmann ''The Tales of Hoffmann'' (French: ) is an by Jacques Offenbach. The French libretto was written by Jules Barbier, based on three short stories by E. T. A. Hoffmann, who is the protagonist of the story. It was Offenbach's final work; he died in ...

'', Manon and

Gilda ''Gilda'' is a 1946 American film noir directed by Charles Vidor and starring Rita Hayworth in her signature role and Glenn Ford. The film is known for cinematographer Rudolph Maté's lush photography, costume designer Jean Louis's wardrobe fo ...

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 José Plácido Domingo Embil (born 21 January 1941) is a Spanish opera singer, conductor, and arts administrator. He has recorded over a hundred complete operas and is well known for his versatility, regularly performing in Italian, French ...

and

Julia Migenes Julia Migenes (born March 13, 1943) is an American soprano working primarily in musical theatre repertoire. She was born on the Lower East Side of New York (Manhattan) to parents of Irish and Puerto Rican descent. (Her stepfather was of Greek ...

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 The Vienna State Opera (, ) is an opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by August ...

and the Opera de Caracas; Marzelline and Cendrillon at Paris'

Théâtre du Châtelet The Théâtre du Châtelet () is a theatre and opera house, located in the place du Châtelet in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France. One of two theatres (the other being the Théâtre de la Ville) built on the site of a ''châtelet'', a ...

, Musetta at

Cologne Opera The Cologne Opera (German language, German: Oper der Stadt Köln or Oper Köln) refers both to the main opera house in Cologne, Germany and to its resident opera company. History of the company From the mid 18th century, opera was performed in th ...

, Germany, Marguerite at the New Israeli Opera and Mélisande in Geneva. She appeared as Susanna and Cherubino in '' The Marriage of Figaro'' at

Glyndebourne Glyndebourne () is an English country house, the site of an opera house that, since 1934, has been the venue for the annual Glyndebourne Festival Opera. The house, located near Lewes in East Sussex, England, is thought to be about six hun ...

. In 2000 she joined the faculty of

Westminster Choir College , mottoeng = Let us be judged by our deeds , established = 1926 , type = Private , president = Gregory G. Dell'Omo , dean = Marshall Onofrio , city = Dayton, OH (1926–1929), Ithaca, NY (1929–1932), Princeton, NJ (1932–2020), Lawrenc ...

Rider University Rider University is a private university in Lawrence Township, New Jersey. It consists of four academic units: the Norm Brodsky College of Business, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the College of Education and Human Services, and West ...

, where she is an adjunct assistant professor of voice."Faith Esham"

Selected discography

* '' Carmen'' (1984) (movie soundtrack album) * '' The Marriage of Figaro'' – Cherubino (EMI) * '' The Songs of Charles W. Griffes'' (Musical Heritage Society)

Television

* '' Pagliacci'' – Nedda (1981) * ''

Gianni Schicchi () is a comic opera in one act by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Giovacchino Forzano, composed in 1917–18. The libretto is based on an incident mentioned in Dante's ''Divine Comedy''. The work is the third and final part of Pucci ...

'' – Lauretta (1981) * Live from

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 milli ...

New York City Opera The New York City Opera (NYCO) is an American opera company located in Manhattan in New York City. The company has been active from 1943 through 2013 (when it filed for bankruptcy), and again since 2016 when it was revived. The opera company, du ...

: ''

The Magic Flute ''The Magic Flute'' (German: , ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a '' Singspiel'', a popular form during the time it was written that in ...

'' – Pamina (1987) ** New York City Opera: ''

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 co ...

'' – Gilda (1988)

Film

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

Best Opera Recording The Grammy Award 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 m ...

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