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discipline = "Mezzo-soprano"
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primary_image_credit = "Arielle Doneson"
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related_companies = ["scene/companies/the-metropolitan-opera.md", "scene/companies/glimmerglass-festival.md", "scene/companies/merola-opera-program.md", "scene/companies/san-francisco-opera.md", "scene/companies/washington-national-opera.md", "scene/companies/seattle-opera.md", "scene/companies/lyric-opera-of-chicago.md"]
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slug = "deborah-nansteel"
title = "Deborah Nansteel"
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“A formidable display of vocal power and dramatic assurance,” mezzo-soprano Deborah Nansteel is posed for international stardom having already performed in almost all of the leading opera companies in the US.  She made her début with The Metropolitan Opera as Alisa in _Lucia di Lammermoor_, her début with the Lyric Opera of Chicago as Gertrude in _Roméo et Juliette_, her Carnegie Hall début in Mozart’s Coronation Mass, and her New York Philharmonic début alongside Eric Owens in _In Their Footsteps: Great African American Singers and Their Legacy_.

This summer, Ms. Nansteel performed the role of Mother/Ensemble in the world première of Blind Injustice with Cincinnati Opera and the role of Brigitta in Bard Music Festival’s _Die tote stadt_ in concert. 

This coming season she will make a series of returns to the Washington National Opera as Emilia in _Otello_ and Second Lady in _The Magic Flute_, and to the Lyric Opera of Chicago for Suzuki in _Madama Butterfly_. She will also make her long awaited role début as Amneris in _Aida_ with Opera Tampa and Opera Grand Rapids and will create the role of Miriam in the World Premiere of Tobias Picker’s _Awakenings_ with Opera Theater St. Louis.​

Since her debut with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, she has returned for _Nabucco_, _Il Trovatore,_ and as Siegrune in _Die Walküre_.  She originated the role of Lucinda in the world première of the Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Jennifer Higdon’s adaptation of Charles Frazier’s thrilling novel _Cold Mountain_ at Santa Fe Opera.  Other notable engagements include Granma in _The Grapes of Wrath_ with the Michigan Opera Theatre, a reprisal of the role of Lucinda in _Cold Mountain_ with North Carolina Opera, the role of Grace in _The Summer King_ with Michigan Opera Theatre, Second Lady in _The Magic Flute_ with the Pacific Symphony, The Mother in _The Consul_ with Opera Saratoga, Jake Heggie’s _The Work at Hand_ for the Mainly Mozart Festival, Nettie Fowler in _Carousel_ and Elvira Griffiths in _An American Tragedy_ and Mary in _Der fliegende Holländer_ with Glimmerglass Opera Festival and Berta in Rossini’s _Il barbiere di Siviglia_ with San Francisco Opera’s Merola Opera Program.

Ms. Nansteel completed the Washington National Opera Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program, where she performed many roles including Tisbe in _La Cenerentola_, Third Lady in _Die Zauberflöte_, Curra (cover Preziosilla) in _La forza del destino_, Paula (cover) in _Florencia en el Amazonas_, as part of a world-première performance of Douglas Pew and Dara Weinberg’s new opera _Penny_, as well as The Cat in Tony Award winning composer Jeanine Tesori’s _The Lion, the Unicorn, and Me_.  As a mainstage artist, Nansteel returned there as Flora in _La Traviata_, Dame Marthe in _Faust_, which she also performed at Dayton Opera, and as the Marquise of Birkenfield in _La fille du regiment_ with Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, which is featured in the documentary film _RBG_.  

Sought after for her performances on the concert stage, Ms. Nansteel has performed Händel’s _Messiah_ with the Memphis Symphony and Charleston Symphony; John Harbison’s _Mirabai Songs_ with the Oregon Mozart Players; Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Seattle Symphony and Fondazione Orchestra Sinfonica e Coro Sinfonico in Milan under the baton of Maestro Xian Zhang; gala concerts with Opera America, at the Smithsonian, and additional venues throughout New York; and various additional concerts including Stravinsky’s _Les noces_, Penderecki’s _Credo_, and Händel’s _Israel and Egypt_.

A house favorite of Seattle Opera, Ms. Nansteel made her main stage début as La suora infermiera in _Suor Angelica_, sang Juno and Ino in Händel’s _Semele_, Foreign Woman in _The Consul_ and, as a former member of Seattle Opera’s young artist program, Giulietta in Verdi’s _Un giorno di regno_ and Maddalena in a performance of _Rigoletto_.

Ms. Nansteel is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) where she earned an Artist Diploma in Opera and a Master of Music in Voice. At CCM, she performed the roles of Berta in _Il barbiere di Siviglia_, Marguerite in Berlioz’s _La damnation de Faust_, Mother Marie in _Dialogues des Carmélites_, Bianca in _The Rape of Lucretia_, and Mother Goose in Stravinsky’s _The Rake’s Progress_. She also received Bachelor of Music degrees in both Vocal Performance and Vocal Jazz Studies from East Carolina University and currently studies with Diana Soviero.

Recent awards include Second Place in the Sun Valley Opera competition in Seattle, the Andrew White Award and Seybold/Russel Award in the Corbett Opera Scholarship Competition, and a Winner in the National Orpheus Vocal Competition. She also recently earned the highly-esteemed Betty Allen Award and a grant from the Sullivan Foundation.