Christine Steyer, soprano, has distinguished herself as an artist of great versatility. The 2020 recipient of The American Prize for outstanding contributions to the arts, andwinner of the Johnny Mercer Award, Steyer has received acclaim for her portrayals of the title role in Madama Butterfly and Violetta in La Traviata. Since 2000, she has sung in 40 productions at Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Steyer is an avid recitalist specializing in contemporary works by women lyricists and composers. Prior to the pandemic, she sang at the Schubert Festival at Unity Temple sharing the stage with Lawrence Brownlee, members of the Chicago Symphony and Lyric Opera of Chicago Orchestras, and was featured on WFMT’s program Music Notes: Music of Healing and Peace singing the aria “Red is a Trick”.
In 2019 Steyer sang in France with The Chicago Paris Cabaret Connexion at the Montpellier Opera House, Paris’ Salle Olympe de Gouges and the Lapin Agile. She and French composer, Jean-Claude Orfali, are writing a book of original cabaret songs to release in 2023.
In April 2021, Steyer premiered the role of the Rio de Janeiro Health Care Worker in the opera On Call: COVID-19 and in 2022, premiered the role of Flanna in the opera Future Perfect–a tale of curiosity. Additionally, Steyer served as librettist for these two operas (composed by David Shenton) which are part of Bellissima Opera’s Award-Winning Tales of Transcendence.
Steyer is the President of the new vocal arts alliance, Working in Concert, as well as the Artistic Director of its Bellissima Opera initiative, an organization founded by Steyer. Bellissima’s In the Classroom, has brought classical music to 24,000 youths in underserved areas throughout the Chicago area. She has taught voice privately in Oak Park for two decades and is a member of the voice faculty at Concordia University in River Forest. She is also the music instructor at Ascension Catholic School in Oak Park sharing her deep love of music with a new generation of young people.