American soprano Cheryl Studer, born on Oct. 24, 1955, has one of the most extensive repertoire lists in soprano history, singing over 80 roles throughout her career.

The soprano started her musical education at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music before moving to the University of Tennessee. In 1978, she won the Met Opera National Council Auditions and then set off to study in Europe where she was under the tutelage of Brigitte Fassbaender, Hans Hotter, and Irmgard Seefried.

She would become a permanent member of the Bavarian State Opera for two seasons before starting to appear in lead roles in “Euryante” and “The Bartered Bride.”

Her early career was dominated by bel canto repertory, but slowly she started to incorporate more German repertoire into her singing and eventually she was a major draw for opera company’s putting on Wagner works.

In 1989, she debuted at the Vienna State Opera and Salzburg Festival and received the Grand Prix-du Disque – Prix Maria Callas.

A year later came her Met Opera debut.

In the early 2000s, her career started to wind down and the soprano moved into lower roles in the mezzo-soprano repertory. She also started to teach, taking a lifetime professorship from the Bavarian State. She also started giving international masterclasses.

Signature Roles

While Studer has sung a wide range of repertoire, she is best known for her interpretations of the works of Wagner and Strauss.

Elsa in “Lohengrin” is undeniably one of her touchstone roles, the soprano recording the opera twice. She was also renowned as Elisabeth in “Tannhäuser,” which was another opera she recorded a few times. She also sang Sieglinde in “Die Walküre” many times in her career and was even a last-minute substation at Bayreuth for Waltraud Meier.

As far as Strauss goes, she sang Chrysothemis in “Elektra,” though she dabbled with the Marschallin in “Der Rosenkavalier.”

Studer also performed numerous operas by Mozart, her interpretation of Donna Anna in “Don Giovanni” likely her most renowned.

Read More on Studer

More on the composers that defined her career

Watch and Listen

Here is a recording of “Lohengrin.”

And here’s some Mozart.