Elissa Johnston, Soprano

Hailed by Musical America for "her voice pure and ethereal, her expression embracing and heartfelt," Elissa Johnston has appeared in a wide range of repertory.  Her orchestral engagements include appearances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Esa-Pekka Salonen and Miguel Harth-Bedoya, the Atlanta Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Fort Worth Symphony, Oregon Bach Festival, San Francisco Contemporary Players and the Pasadena Symphony.  Recent appearances include Carmina Burana with the Colorado Symphony under Jeffrey Kahane, Strauss' Four Last Songs with the California Philharmonic at Disney Concert Hall, Mozart's Requiem with the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra and numerous chamber music appearances with Southwest Chamber Music, Xtet and Jacaranda Music.  Last season she sang the world premiere of Aura by Chinary Ung with Grammy Award winning Southwest Chamber Music.  Johnston has performed numerous times with the L.A. Philharmonic’s New Music Group, both in Los Angeles and at the Ojai Festival, with conductors Tan Dun, David Zinman, Daniel Harding and Steven Stucky.  She recently made her Lincoln Center debut singing Brahms' Liebeslieder Waltzes with the New York City Ballet and was subsequently invited back to premiere Morgen!, a set of 10 orchestral songs by Richard Strauss choreographed by Peter Martins.  Johnston also appeared in the New York Philharmonic's Copland Festival and Lincoln Center's Stravinsky Festival. H er recital appearances include programs at the Aldeburgh Festival in England and at the Aspen Festival's Winter Music Series with composer Ricky Ian Gordon. Also in Aspen she sang the role of Pat Nixon in the world premiere of John Adams' concert suite from Nixon in China entitled The Nixon Tapes, with the composer conducting.  Johnston’s operatic engagements include Pamina in Die Zauberflöte at the Snape Proms in England, the role of Female Chorus in Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia at the Aldeburgh October Britten Festival, and Marzelline in concert performances of Beethoven’s Fidelio at both the Aspen Festival and with the Wheeling Symphony.  With L.A. Opera, she has appeared in Il Trovatore, Le Nozze di Figaro, and Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in Patria.  Johnston can be heard on numerous film soundtracks and is the featured soloist on the soundtrack of the IMAX release "Deep Sea 3D," composed by Danny Elfman, and released on Sony Classics under the title "Serenada Schizophrana."