Amanda Majeski, soprano
Internationally renowned American lyric soprano Amanda Majeski is rapidly garnering critical acclaim for a voice of “silvery beauty” (Musical America), with the Financial Times remarking that “Majeski’s well-rounded soprano...is so warm and glorious, the singing so outstanding, that she leaves no emotions unstirred.” Having established herself as a celebrated interpreter of Mozart, Strauss, Wagner, and Handel, Majeski added a new dimension to her career with her standout performance as the title role in Káťa Kabanová at Royal Opera, Covent Garden in 2019, which won Best New Opera Production at that year’s Olivier Awards.
Majeski made her Metropolitan Opera debut on the opening night of the 2014-2015 season as Countess Almaviva in a new production of Le nozze di Figaro, which was broadcast in HD internationally and on PBS across the United States. Since then, she has returned for revivals of Le nozze di Figaro and Don Giovanni, both conducted by Fabio Luisi, and a new production of Così fan tutte conducted by David Robertson. An alumna of the Ryan Opera Center, she made her mainstage Lyric debut with only a few hours’ notice as Countess Almaviva conducted by Andrew Davis. Named “Best Breakout Star” by Chicago Magazine, she has since continued her relationship with Lyric audiences as Vitellia in La clemenza di Tito, Eva in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, the Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier and as Marta in The Passenger, hailed as a “shattering, star-making performance” by the Chicago Classical Review.
Majeski holds degrees from the Curtis Institute of Music and Northwestern University. She was a member of San Francisco Opera’s Merola Program, the Gerdine Young Artist Program at Opera Theatre of St. Louis, and the Steans Institute at Ravinia. Awards include the George London Foundation Award, first prize of the Palm Beach Opera Vocal Competition, and a Sara Tucker Study Grant from the Richard Tucker Foundation.
Ann Toomey, soprano
Ann Toomey is a 2016 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions national semifinalist and a 2019 Richard F. Gold Career Grant Recipient. Most recently, she made her European debut, to critical acclaim, performing the title role in Suor Angelica at the Berlin Philharmonie. In the 2019 season, she performed as Musetta in La bohème with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, completing her 3 year residency with the Ryan Opera Center. She debuted at the Lyric Opera of Chicago as First Lady in Die Zauberflöte and was seen as the Fifth Maid in Elektra. She had extensive covering opportunities in Chicago, including Elettra (Idomeneo), Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte), and Micaëla (Carmen).
She has participated in nationally recognized young artist programs throughout the United States with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Santa Fe Opera, and Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. As an enthusiast of operatic new works, she helped develop the role of Boonyi in Jack Perla's Shalimar the Clown with Cincinnati Opera Fusion: New Works. This summer Toomey will make her company debut First Lady in Die Zauberflöte at the Glyndebourne Festival.
Toomey completed her Master of Music degree at the University of Cincinnati-College Conservatory of Music after receiving a 2014 Corbett scholarship to attend the school. She appeared as Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte), the soprano soloist in Brahm's Ein deutsches Requiem, and The Virgin in Honeger's Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher. She earned her Bachelor of Music degree in both music education and vocal performance at Oakland University (Rochester, Michigan) near her hometown of Shelby Township, MI.
Katherine Beck, mezzo-soprano
Originally from Bennington, Vermont, first-year Ryan Opera Center mezzo-soprano Katherine Beck has been recognized for her unique sound and honest performances throughout the United States.
Beck was most recently heard onstage at the Metropolitan Opera, where she competed as a semi-finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions in February 2020. That same week, she was a winner of a prestigious George London Foundation award.
In 2019, Beck portrayed Karolka in Jenůfa and covered Dorabella in Così fan tutte at The Santa Fe Opera. She is a former artist of the Marion Roose Pullin Arizona Opera Studio, where she recently was heard as Mary Johnson (Fellow Travelers) and Cherubino (The Marriage of Figaro). Other Arizona Opera credits include Catherine Wright (Shining Brow), Madeleine Audebert (Silent Night), and Flora (La traviata). While at Opera Colorado in 2018, Beck sang Lisette in Gerald Cohen’s Steal a Pencil for Me (world premiere). Beck has numerous recital and chamber-music credits, including two summers as a fellow of the Tanglewood Music Center.
Craig Terry, series artistic director and pianist
American pianist Craig Terry has an international performance career and recently won a GRAMMY Award for “Best Classical Solo Vocal Album” for the recording he made with Joyce DiDonato, “Songplay.”
He has served as the Jannotta Family Endowed Chair music director of Lyric’s Ryan Opera Center since 2013, after having previously spent 11 seasons with the company as an assistant conductor. Before coming to Lyric, he was an assistant conductor at the Metropolitan Opera after joining its Lindemann Young Artist Development Program.
Terry has performed extensively with such esteemed artists such as Jamie Barton, Stephanie Blythe, Lawrence Brownlee, Renée Fleming, Susan Graham, Brian Jagde, Joseph Kaiser, Quinn Kelsey, Kate Lindsey, Ana María Martínez, Susanna Phillips, Luca Pisaroni, and Patricia Racette, among others. He has collaborated as a chamber musician with members of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, the Lyric Opera Orchestra, Leipzig’s Gewandhaus Orchester, and the Pro Arte String Quartet. Terry's discography includes “Diva on Detour” with Patricia Racette, “As Long As There Are Songs” with Stephanie Blythe, and “Chanson d’Avril” with Nicole Cabell.
About the Ryan Opera Center
The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center is Lyric's preeminent artist-development program that nurtures the talents of some of the most promising operatic singers and pianists of each generation. The program’s Ensemble members earn their coveted spot by successfully auditioning among more than 400 artists worldwide. Its alumni are among the dominant names in opera today. Donor generosity ensures continued unparalleled training, performance experience, and professional readiness of Ensemble members. This highly competitive program, established in 1974, is honored to enjoy the support of acclaimed soprano Renée Fleming as Advisor, along with full-time staff Director Dan Novak, Music Director Craig Terry, and Director of Vocal Studies Julia Faulkner. For more information, visit lyricopera.org/ryanoperacenter.
