Soprano Julia Engel has been acclaimed as "beguiling of voice" and "a gloriously pert Norina" for her recent portrayals of Norina in Don Pasquale and Nannetta in Falstaff, both with Houston's Opera in the Heights. The 2015–2016 season has brought forth performances with Metamorphosis Opera Theatre as Cre?use in Milhaud's Me?de?e, with Opera in the Heights as Lucy in The Telephone, and Ms. Engel's debut with Opera Piccola of San Antonio as Konstanze in Josh Shaw's Star Trek-inspired production of The Abduction from the Seraglio. The San Antonio press claimed that Ms. Engel "revealed a silken, well-trained instrument that negotiated the fioritura of the familiar aria about rejecting the Pasha’s advances (originally “Martern aller Arten”) with ease".In the autumn of 2016, Ms. Engel rejoins Opera in the Heights as Adele in Die Fledermaus. Further highlights of her operatic and concert activity include Ariadne auf Naxos with Kingwood Summer Opera, for which Ms. Engel covered the role of Zerbinetta; Metamorphosis Opera Theatre's inaugural production of the early Mozart opera seria Mitridate, re di Ponto, in which Ms. Engel performed the role of Ismene; and Ms. Engel's debuts with the Virtuosi of Houston Orchestra and the Minnesota Philharmonic Orchestra. Ms. Engel also joined Houston Grand Opera's Opera to Go! touring production of Hansel and Gretel, performing the multiple roles of the Dew Fairy, Mother, and Witch in over 80 shows across the state of Texas.
As a 2013 Young Artist with Opera Theatre of Pittsburgh, Ms. Engel debuted with the company as Olympia in The Tales of Hoffmann — Retold. She also participated in the company's Mozart Week, a series of concerts featuring standard and rarely-performed repertoire written by Mozart and his family members. That same year, Ms. Engel joined the CoOperative Program at Westminster (Princeton, NJ), performing Zerlina in Don Giovanni and covering Musetta in La bohe?me. Ms. Engel has also fulfilled young artist residencies with Le chiavi di Bel Canto (Houston, TX) and Glensheen Opera (Duluth, MN).
Ms. Engel's talent has been recognized and encouraged by the 2014 Young Texas Artists Competition, in which she won second place; the University of Houston Concerto Competition, in which she won second place; the Lois Alba Aria Competition, in which she was a finalist; and the Upper Midwest District National Association of Teachers of Singing Artist Awards (ATSAA) Competition, in which Ms. Engel won first place.
Ms. Engel received her Master of Music degree from the University of Houston, where she performed Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier, Nannetta in Falstaff, Madame Herz in The Impresario, and the Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute. She received her Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Minnesota, where she performed Die Ko?nigin der Nacht in Die Zauberflo?te, Karolka in Jenu?fa (in English), and Suor Dolcina in Suor Angelica.
BWW Blog: Soprano Julia Engel - DIE FLEDERMAUS at Opera in the Heights
September 9, 2016
September 9, 2016
As the summer turns to fall (in spirit, it's still 90+ degrees out here in Houston) the artists at Opera in the Heights gear up for their 21st season. Opening the season is the ever-popular Strauss operetta Die Fledermaus, which is rife with catchy tunes, traditional Viennese waltzes and stunningly beautiful vocal lines.
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