Celena Shafer

Praised for her vocal beauty, fearlessly committed acting, and impeccable technique, soprano Celena Shafer is recognized as one of the leading artists of her generation, garnering great acclaim for her operatic, orchestral, and recital performances. In the 2007–08 season Celena Shafer debuts with the St. Louis Symphony as Marzelline in concert performances of Beethoven’s Fidelio, and with the Seattle Symphony for Handel’s Messiah. Return engagements include the Phoenix Symphony for the Brahms German Requiem, the New York Philharmonic for Handel’s Messiah, and the Madison Symphony Orchestra for the Rossini Stabat Mater. Celena Shafer also sings Magnolia in Jerome Kern’s Show Boat at Carnegie Hall, a gala evening with Paul Gemignani and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, featuring Marilyn Horne, Nathan Gunn, and Carolee Carmello, and staged by Francesca Zambello. Recent highlights include her New York Philharmonic debut in Handel’s Messiah and returns for Mozart’s Coronation Mass and Brahms’s Requiem; a debut with the Chicago Symphony in Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 and a return for the Brahms German Requiem; and her Carnegie Hall debut with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s in Mozart’s Requiem.