Christina Pier

American soprano Christina Pier has been hailed by Opera News for her “big, gleaming soprano and impressive coloratura,” and has received great critical and audience acclaim for her work on opera and concert stages.  2019 season highlights include performances of Micaëla in Bizet’s Carmen with Opera Carolina and Toledo Opera; Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Tallahassee Symphony; Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem,and Hailstork’s The World Calledwith the Oratorio Society of Virginia; and Handel’s Messiah with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra.

A Grand Finals Winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, Pier has taken the operatic stage as; Senta in Der Fliegende Holländer with Virginia Opera; the title role in Ariadne auf Naxos with Virginia Opera; Donna Anna in Don Giovanni with the Santa Fe, Sarasota, Nashville, and Eugene Operas; Contessa Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro with Minnesota Opera; Micaëla in Carmen with Florida Grand Opera, Opera Carolina, Princeton Festival, and Toledo Opera; Marguerite in Faust with Eugene Opera; and Pamina in Die Zauberflöte with Florida Grand Opera. She also understudied the title role in Gluck’s Iphigénie en Tauride, and Fiordiligi in Mozart’s Così fan tutte with Lyric Opera Chicago.

As a sought-after concert soloist, Pier has performed Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Roberto Abbado; Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem with the Indianapolis and Missoula Symphonies; Handel’s Messiah with the Baltimore, Charlotte, Indianapolis, Virginia, and Winston-Salem Symphonies; Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 (“Resurrection”) and Richard Strauss’ Trio from Der Rosenkavalier in a return to the Winston-Salem Symphony; Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 with the North Carolina Symphony and Rochester Philharmonic; Mendelssohn’s Elijah with the Colorado Symphony and Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra; Mendelssohn’s Lobgesang and selections from Beethoven’s Leonore with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra; Mozart’s Requiem with the Charlotte and Eugene Symphonies; Mozart’s Great Mass in C Minor with the Alabama Symphony, The Oratorio Society of Virginia, and Orquesta Sinfónico Nacional de Costa Rica; and Ravel’s Shéhérazade with the Hartford Symphony and Rochester Philharmonic.  Ms. Pier has performed Vaughan Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem with the Back Bay Chorale, Florida Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfónico Nacional de Mexico, Charlottesville Symphony, the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir.  In addition, she recorded the work on the Naxos label under David Hill with the BBC singers and Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Pier is also featured as Donna Anna on a recording of Mozart’s Don Giovanni with the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, available on iTunes. Other appearances include a recital under the auspices of the George London Foundation; concerts with the World Youth Orchestra in Italy and at the General Assembly Hall of the United Nations in New York; a tour of performances and master classes throughout China associated with the Charles A. Lynam Competition; numerous radio interviews; and a segment on A&E’s Breakfast with the Arts.

Pier has been recognized by numerous prestigious awards.  She was named Gilbert Artist at Florida Grand Opera, and was a finalist for two years for the Richard Tucker Career Grant. She is the recipient of a George London Award, Sullivan Award, two Charles A. Lynam awards, and two Palm Beach Opera Competition Awards. Originally, from Flagstaff, AZ, Pier received her BM and MM in voice at Indiana University, and began her career under the tutelage of legendary soprano Virginia Zeani. She resides with her family in Charlotte, NC, and is on the voice faculty at University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

Banner photo by Susan and Neil Silverman Photography
Photo of Christina Pier by Alissa Dragun, South Moon Photography