Singing in Italian, Italian Song

Critics have hailed the voice of this Italian-American soprano as “sweet, shimmering” and “agile” (The Washington Post) with the ability to hold audiences “rapt” (Washington City Paper).

Dr. Mastrian (Mastroianni) specializes in works of the 20^th and 21^st centuries, with an intensive focus on Italian vocal music.  As a Fulbright Grantee and Beebe Fellow, she studied in Italy and returns regularly for continued research.  She holds a doctorate in voice from the University of Maryland, where she was a full fellow; her dissertation project was entitled Selected Vocal Works by Progressive Italian Composers of the Twentieth Century:  The Confluence of Nationalism & Internationalism from the Eve of World War I through Post-World War II Reconstruction.  She is a frequent lecturer and recitalist on this topic as well as on Italian art song and opera in general.

Dr. Mastrian has sung with the Nova Amadeus orchestra in Rome, at the Maxim Gorki Theater in Berlin, at the Pisani Palace and the Fondazione Cini in Venice, for three papal audiences at the Vatican, and from coast to coast in the U.S.  In September of 2007 she gave critically-praised performances as the soprano soloist for Luigi Nono’s Canti di vita e d’amore:  sul ponte di Hiroshima at the Konzerthaus at Gendarmenmarkt in Berlin, under the baton of Lothar Zagrosek.  October saw her joining Opera Lafayette for the world premiere recording of an opera that has been released on the NAXOS label, and in November she traveled to Venice to work with the Archivio Nono and the Experimental Studio from Freiburg, under the direction of André Richard, on the electronic and live electronic works of Luigi Nono.  Along with oratorio and recital performances, 2008 saw twenty-four performances in operetta, many new music premieres and tours with the Bay Players Experimental Music Collective, and Dr. Mastrian's Canadian debut at the Chapelle historique du Bon-Pasteur in Montreal.  In 2009-2010, Dr. Mastrian was a Young Artist with Opera Lafayette, performing Charpentier and Gluck at the Kennedy Center and Rose Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center.  She also performed two works of Richard Hoffmann with the Peabody Camerata.  Dr. Mastrian sang an acclaimed recital of 20th-century Italian vocal music at the Respighi Conservatory of Latina, as well as performing at venues such as the Palazzo Cini a San Vio, the Archivio Nono, and the Arts Club of Washington.  With The Bay Players Experimental Music Collective she was part of a Bang on a Can Marathon, gave numerous lectures and concerts, and recorded a double-length DVD, which is currently in post-production.

Upcoming performances this fall include Sonic Circuits at Pyramid Atlantic Arts Center, 12 performances as Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance with the Washington Savoyards at the Atlas Performing Arts Center, and singing music by Ravel at the University of Maryland.  In January and February 2011 she will appear at Teatro La Fenice in Venice, performing the Soprano Solo and covering the role of La Compagna in Luigi Nono's opera Intolleranza, remounted for the 50th anniversary of its premiere; in March 2011 she will perform works by Berio and Maderna at the University of North Carolina Greensboro for the lecture/concert series "Luigi Nono, the Italian Serialists, and European Modernism."  In February 2012 she will perform in New York for the Electronic Music Foundation, an organization of which she is a lifetime member.
 

Prizes have been awarded to her by the American Bach Society, International Joseph Traxel Society, Maryland Opera Society, Max Kade Foundation, Mu Phi Epsilon, National Italian American Foundation, and Vocal Arts Society, among others.  She also has been named a Finalist in the 14^th Seghizzi International Solo Voice Competition, Lois Alba Aria Competition, Schuyler Foundation Career Bridges Grant Awards, and Palm Beach Opera Vocal Competition; she has been a Semi-Finalist in the 23^rd “Città di Conegliano” International Chamber Music Competition, Intermezzo Foundation Elardo International Vocal Competition, Friday Morning Music Club Washington International Competition, Jenny Lind Competition, and Irma M. Cooper Opera Columbus International Vocal Competition.  In 2005 she was named a Richard F. Gold Career Grant recipient and delivered an “exquisitely etched performance, unveiling delicate, silvery tones and pinpoint accuracy” (The Washington Times) as Gilda in Rigoletto with the Summer Opera Theatre Company.  Other operatic roles include Sister Genevieve (Suor Angelica), Adele (Die Fledermaus), Amor/Damigella (L’incoronazione di Poppea), Dew Fairy (Hansel und Gretel), and Sidonie/Lucinde/Bergère (Gluck’s Armide).  She is also very active as a concert artist, with repertoire ranging from Baroque to contemporary and broadcasts via radio, television, and the internet.
 

In addition to teaching at the Peabody Conservatory, where she has been awarded Faculty Development Grants, Dr. Mastrian teaches at American University in Washington, D.C.  She also maintains a private voice studio and is a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing and The Voice Foundation.  She was one of twelve participants chosen for the NATS Intern Program in the summer of 2010, held at Stetson University in Deland, Florida.

Dr. Mastrian received a B.M., summa cum laude, in vocal performance from The Catholic University of America, where she studied with Elizabeth Daniels, and an M.M. in opera performance from the University of Maryland, where she studied voice with Martha Randall and was a member of the Maryland Opera Studio, directed by Leon Major.  She has done additional language study at Middlebury College and other institutions.

(Photo by Peter Van de Water.)