Christine Steyer, Neighbor

As a performer, the soprano has distinguished herself as an artist of great versatility. In addition to being the recipient of many national performance awards including the American Prize Chicago Oratorio and Opera Award and Johnny Mercer Award, Christine Steyer has received acclaim for her portrayals of the title role in Madama Butterfly and Violetta in La Traviata. Since 2000, she has sung as a chorister and in several small roles in over 40 productions at Lyric Opera of Chicago.

A frequent recitalist, Steyer sang several concerts of Russian and American music with pianist Philip Morehead and concerts of Spanish music with guitarist Brandon Acker. She recently sang in France with The Chicago Paris Cabaret Connexion singing at the Montpellier Opera House, Paris' Salle Olympe de Gouges and the Lapin Agile - Paris' oldest cabaret club. In 2020, she sang the Schubert Festival at Unity Temple where Steyer shared the stage with Lawrence Brownlee and members of the Chicago Symphony and Lyric Opera of Chicago Orchestras, and a recital at The 19th Century Club in Oak Park “Music of Hope and Healing”.

Steyer seeks many innovative ways to keep classical vocal music relevant in today's world. As a proponent of new works, she collaborated with numerous poets and musicians as well as writing her own lyrics to create the songbook Six Songs for Soprano. She is currently collaborating as a lyricist with pianist composer Jean-Claude Orfali on a book of original cabaret songs.

As a music advocate, Steyer has brought classical music to 23,000 youth in underserved areas with Bellissima Opera Outreach, an organization that she founded in 2009. Additionally, Steyer is the President of the new arts alliance, Working In Concert as well as the Artistic Director of one of its major initiatives: Bellissima Opera’s Tales of Transcendence–New Operas for Today Celebrating Those Transcending the Human Divide. The first two operas in the series, On Call: Covid-19 will premiere as a virtual opera this April and the second Future Perfect plans to premiere live in Chicago in June. Steyer serves as librettist on these operas which are both set by composer David Shenton.

Steyer teaches voice privately in Oak Park and is an adjunct faculty member at Concordia University in River Forest, Illinois.