VALERIE GIRARD, SOPRANO
VALERIE GIRARD, SOPRANO
Soprano Valerie Girard was born in New York and began her vocal studies with tenor Felix Knight.
After finishing her musical education in New York (among others as full-scholarship student to the American Opera Center of the Juilliard School), and honored with many prizes from notable American competitions, she came to Europe: first to the International Opera Studio of the Zürich Opera, and then as leading lyric-coloratura soprano at the Nationaltheater Mannheim, one of Germany's most prestigious opera houses, where she sang over 22 major roles.Later she joined the ensemble of the Deutsches Nationaltheater Weimar, this time as lirico-spinto soprano with roles including the title role in Strauss' "Arabella", Antonia in "The Tales of Hoffmann" and Lisa in Pique Dame." She was also featured as soloist with the Staatskapelle Weimar in Verdi's "Requiem" and Richard Strauss' "Four Last Songs."
As guest artist, Ms. Girard was also featured in leading roles with the Semperoper in Dresden,
the Aalto Theater in Essen, the Frankfurt Opera and the Stuttgart Opera, the Théâre du Chatelet, Paris, the Marseille Opera and in the USA with the Wolf Trap Festival, the Michigan Opera Theater
and the New York City Opera.
As concert soloist, she sang with symphony orchestras in major European cities including Amsterdam, Berlin, Cologne, the Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto, the Ottorino Respighi Music Festival in Assisi, the Festival for Early Music in Innsbruck and with the Konzertverein in Vienna, Austria. Valerie Girard was also chosen as featured Mozart soprano for the International Mozart Festival in Prague and for the most important Mozart Gala of the year in the country of Guatemala in 2006. She has given solo recitals in New York, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Florence and in most of the large cultural centers in Germany. In the United States, she sang concerts in Chicago with the Ravinia Festival, in New York's Lincoln Center as soloist with the New York Choral Society, the St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble, and with the Lincoln Center Chamber Ensemble. She is the creator and artistic director of a new music festival called "La Camerata di Colombaia" located in the beautiful Casentino mountains near Florence, Italy.
She has been featured in radio broadcasts in both Europe and the United States. She can also be heard on CD recordings including "Mozart Concert Arias" and Ravel's "Schéhérazade".
