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Biography

Soprano, Julie Wright Costa enjoys a rich and varied career that includes opera, musical theatre, oratorio, recital, and concert works. Her warm and flexible voice and dramatic acting skills account for her enthusiastic reception wherever she performs. As one of Ohio Light Opera’s leading sopranos for sixteen seasons, Ms. Wright Costa is regarded as one of the country’s outstanding interpreters of operetta. In addition to her role as performer, she serves as Associate Artistic Director with the Ohio Light Opera. She is featured on several compact disc recordings with the Albany, Operetta Archives and Newport Classics Label, including such works as Kálmán’s La Bayadere and Sari, Sullivan’s Princess Idaand The Yeoman of the Guard, Berté's Das Dreimäderlhaus, and the soon to be released Der Vogelhändler by Carl Zeller.

Opera News states: "In the title role [Princess Ida], Julie Wright is first rate-…She dominates the action and ensemble while retaining Ida’s human quality, and her two arias unfold with a lovely long line and good sense of pacing." Other highlights include successful performances with the Chautauqua Opera, Utah Opera, Michigan Opera Theatre and Cleveland Opera. The New York Times has remarked that, "Julie Wright…sang gloriously." (Washington Square Concert Series). The Chautauquan Daily states, "Julie Wright did some absolutely wonderful singing in the duet ‘Pardonnez-moi’ from Manon and again in the duet ‘Dinne, perche in quest’ eremo’ from Simon Boccanegra. She has a strong voice, excellent technique and a crystalline tone quality, which is delightful to the ear." The State Dispatch of Springfield Illinois wrote of her performances with the Illinois Symphony, "[she] is quite an actress as well as a singer…she has a marvelous voice."

Ms. Wright Costa is a frequent soloist with symphony orchestras throughout the country, including the Illinois Symphony, Utah Symphony, American West Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Charlotte Symphony, Greater Lansing Symphony and the Detroit Chamber Winds. Select performances include Handel's Messiahand Dixit Dominus, J.S. Bach's Magnificat, Haydn's Creation, Honegger's King David, Lloyd Webber's Requiem, Faure's Requiem, Mendelssohn's Elijah, Vaughn William’s Dona Nobis Pacem and Gloria by Vivaldi. In May of 1998, Ms. Wright Costa was the soprano soloist with the Utah Symphony in Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass under the direction of Joseph Silverstein. This was Mr. Silverstein’s last concert as the music director of the Utah Symphony.

Ms. Wright Costa marked her directorial debut with The Ohio Light Opera in Gilbert and Sullivan’s Utopia Limited in 2000, followed by many other works in the light opera canon. Serving as Acting Artistic Director with The Ohio Light Opera last season, she directed Rodgers and Hammerstein timeless classic The Sound of Music, Sullivan's Princess Ida and Kálmán's The Duchess of Chicago. She has been invited to stage direct a series of one act operas with the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York; works included Poulenc’s La Voix Humaine, Hindemith’s Hin und Zurück and David Liptak’s The Moon Singer. Ms. Wright Costa is extremely pleased to have served as the stage director for The University of Utah’s Lyric Opera Ensemble in a spirited production of Richard Traubner’s new english version of Orpheus in the Underworld by Offenbach and most recently for Opera Southwest's production of Lehár's The Merry Widow. In April of 2008, Ms. Wright Costa will take on the dual role of stage director and Katisha for Nevada Opera's production of Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado.

Ms. Wright Costa resides in Salt Lake City with her husband, composer, John Costa.

Courses Taught

• Voice - Private Lessons