About
Judith Schubert is an American opera singer who has spent the majority of her career in Germany. From 1993-2017 she was engaged under a full-time contract at Theater Plauen-Zwickau, where she continues to perform character roles in musical theater productions. At Theater Plauen-Zwickau she is especially known for the years in which she sang dramatic soprano roles of Wagner, Verdi and Puccini, such as Elsa in “Lohengrin”, Venus in “Tannhäuser” and Desdemona in “Otello” under the direction of the renowned conductor, Prof. Rolf Reuter, as well as the role of Aida, Abigail in “Nabucco” and Senta in “The Flying Dutchman” in the Theater in the Park, under the direction of Rainer Wenke. In the theater she sang many other dramatic soprano roles such as the title role in “Tosca” and Leonore in “Fidelio.” In earlier years she sang many lyric and lyrico spinto roles, including Musetta in “La Boheme”, the Countess in “The Marriage of Figaro”, Liu in “Turandot” and Agathe in “Der Freischütz”. She excelled in her portrayal as the Woman in Poulencs one-person Opera, “La Voix Humaine”, directed by Dieter Roth. She also gained regional acclaim for her biographical presentation in her one-person show, “Eine Amerikanerin in Sachsen” (An American in Saxony), a semi-autobiographical work about her growing up in Minnesota, move to New York City to pursue her dream as a singer, and finally her move to Germany and the cultural differences as an American singer living in Germany. In the last several years she has manifested her renewed love of acting, having pursued acting in her years as a student, in character roles such as the Emporer Franz Joseph II in the operetta, “Im weißen Rössl” and Madame Armfeldt in Stephen Sondheim's, “A Little Night Music” under the direction of Jürgen Pöckel and conducting of Leo Siberski.
In addition to the many opera roles over nearly three decades, she has been celebrated for her concert and Lieder singing. She sang more than 30 performances as soprano soloist in Beethoven's “Symphony No. 9” and was often heard as a soloist under the direction of choral conductor Eckehard Rösler. She had the pleasure of working with choreographer Torsten Händler in a version of Ravel's, “Sheherezade”. Other highlights include “Four Last Songs” of Richard Strauss, Verdi's “Requiem”, and Brunnhilde's “Immolation Scene”, sung in symphony series concerts.
Early Life & Journey
Judith Schubert was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where she grew up and later studied at the University of Minnesota, earning a Bachelor of Elected Studies degree in Music and Theater. Her acting experience included productions at the Children’s Theater Company and Dudley Riggs Brave New Workshop Theater. She also performed during the summer of 1976 at the Stagecoach Theater. She worked on her Master of Fine Arts Degree in Music (interrupted by her years in New York City) and completed the degree in 1988 before moving to Germany. Her voice teacher, Roy Schuessler, was also her advisor during her graduate studies and work on her Master of Fine Arts and Doctorate of Musical Arts (not completed) program. She sang several roles under opera workshop director Vern Sutton, including the Countess in “The Marriage of Figaro,” which she later sang in Plauen. During that time she won the Minnesota District Metropolitan Opera Auditions and was twice regional finalist. She also won several other vocal competitions, including first place in both the Schubert Club and National Association of Teachers of Singing graduate divisions. During her early career in Minneapolis and St. Paul she was an active concert soloist, including several years as a church music soloist at House of Hope Church in St. Paul, where she sang with the Bach Chamber Players of St. Paul and the Minnesota Chorale under the direction of Thomas Lancaster, nationally known for his scholarship in works of Bach. She was in several young artist programs including the Minnesota Opera Studio Program, where she also sang minor roles in mainstage productions, such as the Dew Fairy in “Hansel and Gretel” under the direction of the renowned director Wesley Balk and conductor Philip Brunelle. Her voice teaching began during this time during which she taught for two years at Inver Hills Community College.
Image from her semi-autobiographical one person show “Eine Amerikanerin in Sachsen“ (An American in Saxony).
Interrupting her graduate studies, she moved to New York City to further her career. During this time she was accepted into the Blossom Festival summer program where she worked with prominent coach and conductor Stephen Lord, pianist and coach Martin Katz, and where she met her later to be New York voice teacher Marlena Malas. The following year she was a fellow at the Tanglewood Music Festival, where she coached with Margo Garrett and Phyllis Curtin, and sang as a soloist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Seiji Osawa and at the Contemporary Music Festival under the direction of Kent Nagano. She spent a season as a young artist in the chorus and sang minor roles at the St. Louis Opera Company under Colin Graham. She was a member of the Banff School summer program in Banff, Alberta and sang the roles of Donna Elvira in “Don Giovanni” and Norina in “Don Pasquale” at the Ashlawn Highland Festival in Virginia. Other opera engagements included the Chatanooga Opera Company and the Minot Opera. While in NYC she enjoyed portraying several Gilbert & Sullivan roles with the New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players.
In 1988 she moved to Germany to pursue her dream of a lifelong career in opera. Her first four years were spent living in Hannover auditioning. In addition to singing in several concerts and recitals during this time, she sang Gilda in “Rigoletto” at the Opera Spanga summer opera festival in the Netherlands under the direction of David Levi and Corina van Eijk.
She lives with her husband Wolfhard Machmüller (Charly) in Helmsgrün, Germany, where she enjoys swimming in the local reservoir several months a year and traveling to countries all over the world.