Consistently hailed as elegant and refined, Christie Conover’s rich, warm sound is complimented by a personal grace both on and off the stage. She fuses a dynamic voice with expressivity and dramatic sincerity, cultivating a unique, versatile talent. Described by the San Francisco Classical Voice as having a “well-focused instrument with a lovely timbre, perfect trill, and soaring top,” audiences and critics alike agree: Christie Conover is a standout.
About
...her soprano voice as smooth and rich as cream as she sings of her heartbreak while inside a snow globe or standing on the edge of a crumbling cliff.
- Pioneer Press
The 2015-2016 season marked the soprano’s international debut with the Komische Oper Berlin (China tour) as Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, a reprisal of her performance in the same Barry Kosky 1927 production that garnered her critical acclaim at Minnesota Opera in 2015 and 2014. The current 2019-2020 season will see her make a role and company debut in the title character of Rusalka with Opera Steamboat. She also sings concerts with the Longmont Symphony, the Littleton Symphony, the Jefferson Symphony Orchestra, Denver Philharmonic and several house concerts with the Fine Tuned Society of Colorado which she co-founded and in its sixth season.
An avid and gifted performer of new works, Ms. Conover performed the role of Caroline Abbott in the 2015 world premiere of Opera San Jose’s production of Where Angels Fear to Tread. The San Francisco Chronicle claimed, “The finest performance came from soprano Christie Conover as Caroline, singing with melting directness and bringing worlds of nuance to the character’s plight.”
For Minnesota Opera, she covered the role of Sister James in the world premiere of Doubt by Douglas Cuomo (2013) and portrayed the role of Jocelyn Jordan in the workshop of The Manchurian Candidate by Kevin Puts, which continued on to have its premiere there in 2015. Most recently she sang the world premier performance of scenes from The Origin by Bruce Adolphe in 2016.
Previous seasons include performances as the title role in Rusalka with Opera Steamboat, Pamina in Die Zauberflöte with Komische Oper Berlin, Minnesota Opera, and Grand Junction Symphony; Caroline Abbott in the world premier of Where Angels Fear to Tread with Opera San Jose; Musetta in La bohème, Liù in Turandot and Anna in Nabucco with Minnesota Opera; Micaëla in Carmen with Livermore Valley Opera, Opera Fort Collins and Billings Symphony; Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro and Juliette Roméo et Juliette with Livermore Valley Opera; and Clorinda in La Cenerentola with Opera Colorado. Additional roles performed include Gretel (Hansel and Gretel), Abigail Williams (The Crucible), Madeline (Face on the Barroom Floor), Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Emily (Our Town), Josefina (Autumn Orchard), and the title role in The Cunning Little Vixen.
She has also been a guest artist with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, the Colorado Music Festival, Colorado Springs Philharmonic, Longmont Symphony, Littleton Symphony, Jefferson Symphony, Bakken Trio (Minnesota), Helena Symphony (Montana), Marina del Rey Symphony, and a guest recital at the Chautauqua Institution (New York).
A 2016 finalist of the Loren L. Zachary National Vocal Competition, Ms. Conover has placed consistently in competitions, including the National Federation of Music Clubs Young Artist Competition (2015 First Place Winner), the Grand Junction Symphony Young Artist Competition (2014 First Place Winner), the Irene Dalis Competition (2013 Second Place Winner and Audience Choice), The Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions (2011 Rocky Mountain Region Third Place Winner and 2012 Finalist), and the Denver Lyric Opera Guild Competition (2010 First Place Winner). Her training includes the Minnesota Opera Resident Artist program (2012-14), the Aspen Music Festival Opera Theatre program (2011), and the Opera Colorado Young Artist program (2010-11).
Ms. Conover was proud to represent her home state of Montana as a contestant in the 2007 Miss America Pageant and traveled extensively speaking to students on a platform close to her heart: “Music Makes the Difference.”