Internationally Hailed Soprano Julia Faulkner To Be In Residence At U Of A

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Julia Faulkner, Metropolitan Opera star and leading soprano with the Vienna State Opera, will spend the week of Feb. 22 — 27 in residence at the University of Arkansas, holding workshops with students from universities throughout Arkansas and offering two public performances.

At 3 p.m. on Feb. 22, she will perform Richard Strauss’s "Four Last Songs" with the University of Arkansas Orchestra at the Walton Arts Center. At 7 p.m. on Feb. 27, she will offer a solo concert at the First Baptist Church on the corner of College and Dickson, accompanied by acclaimed UA pianist Jura Margulis, who has won prizes in more than a dozen international competitions and recorded five CDs.

For tickets to the Feb. 22 concert, contact the Walton Arts Center at (479) 443-5600. Admission to the Feb. 27 solo concert is free.

In addition to gracing the stages of the Bavarian State Opera, Vienna State Opera, La Scala, and the Metropolitan Opera, Ms. Faulkner has been a soloist with the Berlin Philharmonic, Staatskappelle Dresden, Cleveland Orchestra, and the London Philharmonic. She has recorded for Deutsche Grammophon, EMI, Naxos, and Orfeo.

"She first gained national attention as a soloist when she was a finalist in the 1985 Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions. She had won the district audition in Little Rock, where her father was on the faculty of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock," said music professor Janice Yoes, who contacted Faulkner and arranged her visit to campus. The residency will be partially funded by the UA Artists and Concerts Committee.

While on campus, Faulkner will also participate in the statewide meeting and competition of the National Association of Teachers of Singing. She will offer two master classes, one for UA students only, the other for students from other universities.

"Julia Faulkner is one of today’s premier singers with tremendous credentials," said Yoes. "She will offer students the invaluable experience of receiving feedback from a noted singer of classical music."

Faulkner has remained on the Met roster since 1997, taking part in the Opera’s 2001 tour to Japan. She holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Indiana University and is on the faculty of the University of Wisconsin—Madison. Her students have won numerous awards and are singing worldwide in operas, concerts, and musical theatre.