Judith Forst mezzo-soprano

Canadian born mezzo-soprano Judith Forst has been highly acclaimed for her operatic and concert performances throughout North America and in Europe in many of the worlds most prestigious theaters which have included the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Bavarian State Opera, Munich, Netherlands Opera, Dallas Opera, Washington Opera, Vancouver Opera, at the Santa Fe Opera among many others. In 2006 she made her debut at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan as the Kabinicha in Janacek's Katya Kabanova. Recognized as one of Canada's most distinguished artists, she has been honored with the Order of Canada.

Judith Forst began the 2009-2010 season with her return to the Lyric Opera of Chicago for Katya Kbanova. She also made her debut at Houston Grand Opera as Mrs. Grose in The Turn of the Screw where she was also heard as The Countess in Pique Dame. Future engagements include her return to Vancouver Opera for the world premiere of Lilan Alling as well as the world premiere of The Inventor for Calgary Opera. She will be heard as Herodias in Salome for L'opera de Montreal, and will also be heard in Katya Kabanova in Oviedo.

During the 2008-2009 season Judith Forst appeared with as Mrs. Grose in Britten's The Turn of the Screw with Portland Opera, and returned to Vancouver Opera as Herodias in Salome. Other recent engagements for Ms Forst have included Salome at Dallas Opera and Vancouver Opera and the world premiere of Transit of Venus for Manitoba Opera. She has appeared in concert with the Vancouver Symphony and at the Santa Fe Opera as Mme de la Haltiere in Massenet's Cendrillon, in Vancouver in Jenufa and in the Calgary premiere of Heggie's Dead Man Walking. She made her debut at the Lyric Opera of Chicago as Herodias during the 2006-2007 season, and also returned to the Metropolitan Opera as the Kostelnicka in Jenufa.

Judith Forst is now most identified with roles such as the Kostelnicka in Janacek's Jenufa, Klytemnestra in Strauss's Elektra, Herodias in Salome and Mme de Croissy in Poulenc's Dialogues des Carmelites, the Countess in Tchaikovsky's The Queen of Spades, Augusta Tabor in Moore's The Ballad of Baby Doe, the Baroness in Barber's Vanessa and the Witch in Hansel und Gretel. Prior to expanding into this repertoire, she had sung a repertoire of extraordinary versatility and one which encompassed virtually all styles and periods and which has extended into the soprano repertoire as well.

Judith Forst began her career at the Metropolitan Opera when, after her participation in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, General Manager Sir Rudolf Bing immediately offered her a contract with the company. Her first roles at the Metropolitan included Preziosilla in La Forza del Destino, Stephano in Romeo et Juliette and Siebel in Faust and she has returned to the Metropolitan regularly all through her career for roles such as Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni under James Levine, Giulietta in Les Contes d'Hoffmann, Countess Adelaide in Arabella, and the Kabinicha in Katya Kabanova. After her first seasons at the Metropolitan, Forst was soon heard at most of the operatic theaters in North America in roles such as Dorabella in Cosi Fan tutte, Rosina in Il Babiere di Siviglia, the title role in La Cenerentola, Adalgisa in Norma, Charlotte in Werther, Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier and Bizet's Carmen. She made her Seattle Opera debut as Giovanna Seymour in Anna Bolena and subsquently appeared in this role opposite Dame Joan Sutherland in San Francisco, Toronto, Detroit, Washington, DC and in New York where the concert was also televised as part of the "Live from Lincoln Center" series. Forst made her European debut in Paris in 1985 in a concert performance of Les contes d'Hoffmann and her Munich debut as Preziosilla in La Forza del Destino. She made her London debut in the spring of 1992 in the British premiere of Rossini's Ermione and starred as the Composer in a new production of Ariadne auf Naxos at the English National Opera in 1994.

In recent seasons Forst has participated in productions of many contemporary works and world premieres. She appeared in two such premieres at the San Francisco Opera, singing in Sousa's Liaisons Dangereuses and Previn's Streetcar Named Desire. Both productions were telecast nationally. Forst appeared in Dallas in Argento's Valentino, and in Toronto she created the roles of Pamphilea and Antiope in The Golden Ass with the Canadian Opera Company Among the many other 20th Century roles she has performed have been Marie in Berg's Wozzeck, a role she debuted with the Canadian Opera Company and also sang at the San Francisco Opera, the Kostelnicka in Jenufa, which she has sung in Vancouver, Toronto and for her debut in Prague, the Kabanicha in Katya Kabanova, which entered her repertoire in Santa Fe and which she has also sung at the Metropolitan Opera and at La Scala. Forst appeared as Countess Adelaide in Arabella in both San Francisco and at the Metropolitan Opera and sang her first Herodias in Salome in San Francisco, where she also returned for yet another new role, Augusta Tabor in Moore's The Ballad of Baby Doe. She made a sensationally received debut as Klytemnestra in Elektra at Santa Fe and was also highly praised for her Jocasta in Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex in Toronto. Forst has been heard in no less than three leading roles in Poulenc's Dialogues des Carmelites, Mere Marie and Mme Lidoine and in 2002 as Mme de Croissy.

Ms. Forst also keeps an active career on the concert and recital stage and has been heard with leading orchestras throughout North America. As one of Canada's most revered artists, Judith Forst was the subject of a CBC Television Portrait in 1987. Judith Forst's discography includes the live recorded opera album A Streetcar Named Desire with André Previn conducting and From the Diary of Anne Frank, an album of original pieces with two of them being expressly commissioned for Ms. Forst. Receiving outstanding mention is the artist's solo Italian Aria album recorded with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Mario Bernardi released in 1988.

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