CHRISTINA ESSER

(166 cm)
Young Artists Program

Mexican-American mezzo-soprano Christina Esser has been noted for her  “rich mezzo”, and “captivating performances” (The Desert Sun). This season, Ms. Esser will make her New York debut  as a Young Artist with the Dell’arte Opera Ensemble performing the role of Giovanna Seymour in Donizetti’s Anna Bolena. Recent roles include Hermia in Benjamin Britten’s A Midsummer Nights Dream with the Hawaii Performing Arts Festival, the title role in a world premiere workshop reading of Juana by Carla Lucero and Mrs. Krawcyck in Janice Hamer’s Lost Childhood with Opera UCLA, and  Marcellina in Le nozze di Figaro as well as The Monitress in Suor Angelica with Repertory Opera Company.

​

Other role highlights include  Dardano in Amadigi, Virtù and Poppea (cover) in L’incoronazione di Poppea , and The Third Lady in Die Zauberflöte. Additionally, she has performed in scenes from operas such as Così fan tutte (Dorabella), Il barbiere di Siviglia (Rosina), Hansel and Gretel (Hansel), Carmen  (Carmen), and The Mikado (Pitti Sing).

​

In 2020, Ms. Esser was selected as one of nine finalists (both instrumental and vocal) to compete in the prestigious Hennings-Fischer Burbank Philharmonic Young Artist Competition, and was also one of the winners of the Mimi Alpert Feldman Scholarship competition. She has also been a featured young artist with the Palm Springs Opera Guild, and in May, will return as a guest teaching artist in their education outreach tour, “Opera in the Schools”.

​

A versatile artist, Ms. Esser also excels in standard concert works. She has been a featured soloist with the Santa Ynez Master Chorale and Orchestra performing Schubert’s Mass in G, as well as the featured soloist with the Idyllwild Master Chorale and Orchestra concert series, singing selections from Handel’s Messiah.

In 2018, 2019, and 2020, Ms Esser attended the International Vocal Academy in Payerbach, Austria where she studied with world-renowned baritone Vladimir Chernov and bel canto expert Olga Toporkova. She has also been a participant in the Hawaii Performing Arts Festival where she worked with soprano Jennifer McGregor and conductor Paul Floyd.

​

Christina received a Bachelor of Arts degree from UCSB, where she graduated magna cum laude, and received a Masters of Music in Vocal Arts degree from the University of California Los Angeles, studying under Vladimir Chernov and Peter Kazaras. At UCLA, she was the recipient of a Departmental Music Scholarship, Graduate Fellowship Award, and was one of the Mimi Alpert Feldman Scholarship Competition winners.

​

Alongside music, Ms. Esser also excels in visual arts such as studio art and photography. She studied studio art intensively at a young age, winning numerous scholarships and art competitions throughout her home town of Palm Springs, California. She currently receives frequent commissions for her digital art works and photography, and has recently found a niche in creating multimedia livestream concerts where her art work time lapses alongside the music being performed.

​

​