Deborah Nansteel at Opera Saratoga

Born in Okinawa, Japan, and raised in Havelock, North Carolina, mezzo-soprano Deborah Nansteel is poised for international stardom, having performed in almost all of the leading opera houses in the United States. Deborah made her debut with The Metropolitan Opera as Alisa in Lucia di Lammermoor, her début with the Lyric Opera of Chicago as Gertrude in Roméo et Juliette, her Carnegie Hall début in Mozart's Coronation Mass, and her New York Philharmonic début alongside Eric Owens in In Their Footsteps: Great African American Singers and Their Legacy. Since her début with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, she has returned for Nabucco, Il trovatore, and as Siegrune in Die Walküre. She originated the role of Lucinda in the world première of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Jennifer Higdon's adaptation of Charles Frazier's thrilling novel Cold Mountain at Santa Fe Opera. Other notable engagements include Granma in The Grapes of Wrath with the Michigan Opera Theatre, a reprisal of the role of Lucinda in Cold Mountain with North Carolina Opera, the role of Grace in The Summer King with Michigan Opera Theatre, Second Lady in The Magic Flute with the Pacific Symphony, The Mother in The Consul in her debut with Opera Saratoga, Jake Heggie's The Work at Hand for the Mainly Mozart Festival, Nettie Fowler in Carousel, Elvira Griffiths in An American Tragedy, and Mary in Der fliegende Holländer with Glimmerglass Opera Festival. Deborah is an alumna of San Francisco Opera's Merola Opera Program, and the Washington National Opera Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program. In Washington, her memorable appearance as the Marquise of Birkenfeld in La fille du régiment alongside Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg is a treasured memory, which is featured in the documentary film RBG.