Elizabeth Futral has established herself as one of the major coloratura sopranos in the world today. With her stunning vocalism and vast dramatic range, she has embraced a diverse repertoire that includes Vivaldi, Handel, Mozart, Bellini, Donizetti, Rossini, Verdi, Glass, and Previn.
In the 2009-2010 season, Elizabeth Futral celebrates the art of the recital with a solo appearance at North Central College and in tandem with baritone Nathan Gunn at Dominican University. The soprano returns to Lyric Opera of Chicago for Hanna Glawari in The Merry Widow, and makes a much-anticipated reappearance at Kentucky Opera for Violetta in La traviata, a role she essays later in the season with San Diego Opera. On the concert scene, Ms. Futral joins Jane Glover and Music of the Baroque for the title role in Händel's Acis and Galatea. She performs one of her favorite works, Strauss' Four Last Songs, with the Tucson Symphony, on a program also featuring the world premiere of Stephen Paulus' Three Poems of Dylan Thomas. The season is completed with a concert performance of Ricky Ian Gordon's The Grapes of Wrath with the Collegiate Chorale at Carnegie Hall.
The soprano has appeared at the major opera houses of the world, including the Metropolitan Opera (the title role in Lucia di Lammermoor, Princess Eudoxie in La juive, Elvira in I Puritani, and most recently, Princess Yueyang in the world premiere of The First Emperor), Royal Opera House, Covent Garden (Musetta in La bohéme), San Francisco Opera (Stella in the world premiere of A Streetcar Named Desire, Violetta in La traviata), Bayerische Staatsoper (Nannetta in Falstaff), Gran Teatre del Liceu (Gilda in Rigoletto), and Berlin State Opera (Violetta in La traviata). Ms. Futral enjoys particularly close relationships with Lyric Opera of Chicago, where recent projects have included Violetta and the title role in Partenope, and Washington National Opera, where she has bowed as Adina in L’elisir d’amore, Violetta and Lucia.
A fervent performer of orchestral repertoire, Elizabeth Futral made her New York Philharmonic debut in Mahler's Symphony No. 2 under the direction of Zubin Mehta, and has performed in a concert version of Berlioz's Benvenuto Cellini with the London Symphony conducted by Sir Colin Davis. She was a guest artist on the 2000 New Year's Eve Gala Concert with the Berlin Philharmonic under the direction of Claudio Abbado, released on DVD by Euroarts Music International, and has performed the Brahms Requiem and Krenek’s Die Nachtigall with the San Francisco Symphony, under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas.
Ms. Futral's extensive discography includes Meyerbeer's L'Etoile du nord for Marco Polo, Previn's A Streetcar Named Desire, and Ravel's L'Enfant et les sortilèges conducted by Maestro Previn for Deutsche Grammophon, Philip Glass's Hydrogen Jukebox for Euphorbia Records, a recording of Bach solo cantatas with J. Reilly Lewis and the Washington Bach Consort, and Ricky Ian Gordon’s Orpheus and Euridice for Sh-K-Boom Records. She has recorded Rossini's Otello and Zelmira, Pacini's Carlo di Borgogna, and The Supreme Decorator for Opera Rara, Lucia di Lammermoor and a solo aria recital for Chandos as part of their “Opera in English” series. Ms. Futral can also be heard on Sweethearts, a collection of operetta favorites on Newport Classics. Elizabeth Futral can be seen as Stella in the video of A Streetcar Named Desire on the Kultur label, and has been featured on Live From Lincoln Center and A&E's Breakfast With the Arts.
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