Shirley Close has performed leading roles in major opera houses in Europe, America and Asia, first as a mezzo and then as a dramatic soprano. Sir George Solti and Margaret Harshaw were both influences and aided her in making the transition.

Career Highlights:

Orchestras:

Los Angeles
San Francisco
Philadelphia
Bonn
Oslo
Stuttgart
Munich
Caramoor Festival
Carnegie Hall
Kennedy Center

Selected Performances at:

Bavarian State Opera, Munich
Bayreuth Festival
Cologne Opera
Staatsoper and Deutsche Oper Berlin
Deutsche Oper am Rhein (Düsseldorf)
National Theater of Mannheim
Opéra du Rhin (Strasbourg, France)

Selected Roles:

Der Ring des Nibelungen
- 14 roles including:
- Brünnhilde, Fricka, Waltraute, Gutrune
Parsifal – Kundry
Lohengrin – Ortrud
Tannhäuser – Elizabeth and Venus
Tosca – Tosca
Alceste – Alceste
Jenůfa – Kostelnička
Aida – Amneris
Norma – Adalgisa
Il Trovatore – Azucena

Noted Conductors:

Daniel Barenboim
Riccardo Muti
James Conlon
John Nelson
Michael Gielen
Sir David Willcocks
Louis Langrée