Sigma Alpha Iota

I nternational opera star, Lambda initiate, and former Oklahoma City Alumnae Chapter member Marquita Lister has earned worldwide critical praise for the past two decades, during which time she has garnered kudos from critics and colleagues alike, while audiences the world over relish her interpretive dramatic capabilities in each operatic role. Her repertoire includes the works of Verdi, Puccini, Gershwin and Strauss, and she has been heard in the most prestigious opera houses, including San Francisco, Houston, Montreal, Buenos Aires, Berlin, Paris and La Scala. Her onstage partners have included Placido Domingo, Justino Diaz, Frederica Von Stade, Marcello Giordani, Simon Estes, and Sherrill Milnes, to name a few. Lister was initiated into the Lambda Chapter at the New England Conservatory in 1981. The Winter 1983 PAN PIPES notes her participation as Lambda Chaplain in the 1982 initiation of Conservatory faculty member Dr. Julia Sutton as an Honorary Member. She was the recipient of the 1982 SAI Region IV Summer Music Scholarship at Tanglewood. She has been invited to sing some of opera's most coveted roles, including Aida, Salome, Tosca and Lady Macbeth, and her performance as Bess in the New York City Opera's Emmynominated production of Porgy and Bess earned her the company's Diva Award. She performed the role of Salome at the 100th Anniversary of Strauss at Dresden's Semperoper, an unprecedented honor for an African-American soprano, followed by performances of Alice Ford in Falstaff at the Portland Opera, Salome in Austin, Liu in Turandot in Baltimore and Tosca in Vancouver. SAI SPOTLIGHT Upon performing Nedda in I Pagliacci and Musetta in La Boheme at the Arena di Verona, she established herself as an international star, earning the "Artist of the Year Award" from the Pittsburgh Opera. She was then engaged by Gotz Friedrich, Director of the Deutsche Oper Berlin to perform the roles of Bess in Porgy and Bess at the Theater des Westens, Aida at the Deutsche Oper, and Bess at the Bregenz Festival. Then came Houston Grand Opera's tour of Porgy and Bess, which included performances in the U.S., Japan, Paris' Opera Bastille and the Teatro alla Scala di Milano. Lister has appeared in television productions with the Boston Pops and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra as well as on PBS in the broadcast, Live from Lincoln Center. She has recorded George Gershwin's Blue Monday and excerpts from Porgy and Bess for Telarc Records with the Cincinnati Pops, and can be heard on the Albany Records recording of Where the Sunsets Bleed by Edward Knight. In 2006, she recorded the critically acclaimed Porgy and Bess CD for Decca Records, which was hailed by Opera News as one of the best recordings of the year. In 2010, Cambridge Who's Who named Lister "Professional of the Year in Performing Arts" and the honor of being included in its prestigious registry. As a philanthropist, Lister is committed to organizations that support music and education. She is proud to be the spokesperson for the "Negro Spiritual" Scholarship Foundation, as well as an advocate for the scholarship and education programs of the National Association of Negro Musicians, Inc. In December 2011, she received the National Rehabilitation Hospital's prestigious Victory Award, placing her among fellow recipients Stevie Wonder, the legendary Ray Charles, actress Teri Garr, and Senator Robert Dole. The Victory Awards were created by the hospital in 1986 to honor individuals who best exemplify exceptional strength and courage in the face of physical adversity. Over the past 25 years, NRH has recognized celebrities and former patients from all walks of life with this prestigious award. Lister came to the hospital in 2006 for rehabilitation after she became critically ill with inflammation of the lungs and muscles. She made a remarkable recovery, with her singing voice unaffected. Having enjoyed rave notices for her performance of Bess in a semi-staged production of Porgy and Bess with the Akron Symphony Orchestra in 2011, she made her debut as "Serena" in the Gershwin classic at Tanglewood Music Festival this past summer. Most recently she performed a program of Gershwin classics with Maestro Bramwell Tovey at the keyboard in Vancouver, Canada and appeared with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra's Mahler extravaganza (MahlerPlus) in the great composer's Symphony No. 2 in C minor, Resurrection under Maestro Tovey's direction to a standing ovation. In June, Lister will be a featured performer in concert with orchestra at Denmark's Bornholm Music Festival. Later in the year, she will reprise the role of Serena in a concert performance of Porgy and Bess with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. — MarquitaLister.com CLICK FOR MORE To learn more about Marquita, visit MarquitaLister.com At left, Lister is seen with Iraq War veteran/actor J.R. Martinez, and multiple Academy of Country Music Award winner Mickey Gilley. Opposite page, Lister performs a semi-staged production of Porgy & Bess at the Hollywood Bowl in 2009. sai-national.org SPRING 2012 PAN PIPES 23

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