Lisa Saffer

Soprano Lisa Saffer, described by Leighton Kerner as "one of those special singers whose technique and blooming sound always serves sense and emotion" delves into repertoire ranging from Bach to Zimmermann with remarkable incisiveness and musicality.

Renowned for her interpretation of twentieth century repertoire, English National Opera mounted Berg’s Lulu for Lisa Saffer this past season. The Richard Jones production, conducted by Paul Daniel, was received as an enormous success with Lisa Saffer’s performance acknowledged as outstanding. The Sunday Times wrote "The American soprano Lisa Saffer…is a beguilingly sexy Lulu, transforming herself with ease of a consummate quick-change artiste into the female fantasy of her lovers, and singing the hair-raisingly high vocal lines with insouciant ease". The preeminent interpreter of the role of Marie in Zimmermann’s Die Soldaten, the soprano received international acclaim for the role in the New York premiere of the opera at the New York City Opera, which was followed by equally heralded performances at the Opéra National de Paris at the Bastille (under conductor Berhard Kontarsky) and at the English National Opera (under conductor Elgar Howarth) in the London stage premiere. The review of her performance in The Nation read "Among many superb performers, Lisa Saffer’s Marie was in a class by herself: unfailingly effective she sang the fearsomely difficult part without a hesitant note or accent - true, direct, lyrical...Were it not for the skill and beauty of Lisa Saffer’s presence you would not be able to hear much except heaps upon piles on densely aggressive sonorities; these are immediately, expressive, directly, even blatantly, programmatic." Future contemporary opera productions include the New York premiere of Charles Wuorinen’s Haroun and the Sea of Stories at the New York City Opera in which she will perform the title role of Haroun.

Ms. Saffer is sought after worldwide for leading roles in contemporary operas. Her numerous accomplishments in this repertoire include the world premiere of Klaas de Vries’ A King Riding at the Holland Festival, Hilda Mack in Hans Werner Henze’s Elegy for Young Lovers with the Schoenberg Ensemble (conducted by Oliver Knussen) at the Concertgebouw for VARA and at Tanglewood (conducted by Gustav Meier), Polly/Witch in Birtwistle’s Punch and Judy in the Pierre Audi production and Morton Feldman’s Neither in performances conducted by Oliver Knussen (both at the Netherlands Opera), Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos at the Scottish Oprea in a production by Nottingham Playhouse director Martin Duncan and conducted by Richard Armstrong, Tytania in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Florentine Opera which was directed by David Gately and conducted by Steuart Bedford, the title role in Moore’s The Ballad of Baby Doe and Anne Trulove in Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress at the Indianapolis Opera, The Fire and Nightingale in Ravel’s L’enfant et les Sortileges and Cunegonde in the Hal Prince production of Candide both at the New York City Opera, and Mary Warren in Robert Ward’s The Crucible in her Washington Opera debut. Her performance in Amsterdam of The Rape of Lucretia, conducted by Oliver Knussen, was broadcast by VARA Radio. She also made a rare foray in the operas of Wagner performing the roles of Woglinde and the Woodbird in the Stephen Wadsworth production of the Ring Cycle at the Seattle Opera. Ms. Saffer’s first leading contemporary role after her apprenticeship at the Santa Fe Opera was at the Lyric Opera of Chicago when she covered Catherine Malfitano as Lulu.

Ms. Saffer’s concert appearances encompass a broad repertoire. In the United States, she has appeared with the Boston Symphony Orchestra (Knussen’s Symphony No. 2, conducted by the composer), the Baltimore Symphony (with Christopher Seaman), the Chicago Symphony (two world premieres: John Harbison’s Four Psalms with Christoph Eschenbach and James Primosch’s From A Book Of Hours written to texts by Rilke with Anthony Pappano) the Cleveland Orchestra (Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Christoph von Dohnányi and Ravel’s L’enfant et les Sortileges with Pierre Boulez at Carnegie Hall), the Colorado Symphony (Mozart’s Exsultate jubilate K158a with Marin Alsop), the Dallas Symphony (Mozart’s Exsultate jubilate K158a with Pinchas Zukerman), the Detroit Symphony (Handel’s Messiah), the Handel & Haydn Society (Handel’s L’Allegro with Christopher Hogwood) the Indianapolis Symphony (Handel arias with Nicholas McGegan), the Los Angeles Philharmonic Contemporary Music Group (Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Floof, Knussen’s Rilke Songs and Carter’s A Mirror on Which to Dwell), the National Symphony (Messiah with Claudio Scimone), the New York Philharmonic (Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Kurt Masur), the Philadelphia Orchestra (Handel’s Messiah), Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra (Handel’s Judas Maccabaeus and Resurrezione with Nicholas McGegan), the San Francisco Symphony (concert version Candide with David Zinman), the Brooklyn Philharmonic (the Britten Spring Serenade with Robert Spano), and the Albany, Richmond, Lafayette and Utah Symphonies, and Rochester and Florida Philharmonics. Her Carnegie Hall debut was with the New York Choral Society as soprano soloist in Carmina Burana, which she also repeated with the Detroit Symphony and at the Hollywood Bowl (both conducted by Neeme Järvi). The soprano premiered Bright Sheng’s Three Chinese Love Songs at Tanglewood in the Bernstein 70th Birthday Celebration and has since performed the cycle at the Santa Fe Chamber Music Society, the Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group, and under the auspices of the Lyric Opera of Chicago. At the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the soprano premiered Lohn for soprano and percussion by Kaija Saariaho. She also gave the world premiere of Rorem’s Evidence of Things Not Seen with New York Festival of Song at Weill Recital Hall, Carnegie Hall and has returned to The New York Festival of Song on many occasions since. She made her Lincoln Center recital debut, with pianist Judith Gordon, on the "Art of the Song" series. This season in Boston, she will perform Handel arias with Boston Cecilia at Jordan Hall, Schoenberg String Quartet No. 2 with Dinosaur Annex at Jordan Hall, , and will premiere the piano version of James Primrosch’s From A Book Of Hours written to texts by Rilke with pianist Judith Gordon at the Gardner Museum. In Virginia, she will perform Handel’s Messiah with the Richmond Symphony and also appear with Judith Gordon at the Charlottesville Chamber Music Festival. The soprano will make her Atlanta Symphony debut performing DelTredici’s Ecstatic Alice with Robert Spano and her St. Paul Chamber Orchestra debut performing Alexander’s Feast with Nichols McGegan this season, as well.

Ms. Saffer’s discography includes the Grammophone Award winning recording of Handel’s Ariodante (HMU 907146.48), Agrippina (HMU 907063/65), Ottone (HMU 907073.75), and Radimisto (HMU 907111/13), Purcell’s Dido & Aeneas (HMU 907110), and her solo aria recording Arias for Cuzzoni (HMU 907036). She has also recorded Knussen’s Hums and Songs for Winnie-the-Pooh with The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center for Virgin Classics (07777-59308 2), Imbrie’s Requiem with the Riverside Symphony and Sheng’s Three Chinese Love Songs for New World Records (80407-2). Most recently she has recorded Knussen’s Higglety Pigglety Pop & Where the Wild Things Are with the London Sinfonietta for DGG and Xanthe in Richard Strauss’ Die Liebe der Danae with the American Symphony Orchestra (conducted by Leon Botstein) for Telarc. Her appearance in the New York City Opera production of A Little Night Music was televised "Live From Lincoln Center" and she has appeared as a guest artist on the Garrison Keillor radio program on NPR.

Lisa Saffer was awarded the Diva Award by the New York City Opera, in addition to winning the Anna Case Mackay Award as an apprentice at the Santa Fe Opera. Ms. Saffer was a national finalist in the Metropolitan Opera auditions, a Central City Opera Studio Artist, and a recipient of a 1988 National Music Theater Institute encouragement grant. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Music from Oberlin College Conservatory, and a Master's in Music and an Artist Diploma from New England Conservatory.