Angelic is the word that has most often been used to describe the silvery, pure, sweet tone of Esther Heideman's vocal artistry. In 2000, she won the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and the Licia Albanese Competition. In 2001, she made her Metropolitan Opera debut singing Pamina in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte. These performances were immediately followed by her debut with the New York Philharmonic in Bach's Christmas Oratorio, and her European debut with the Prague Radio Symphony, singing in Mahler's Second Symphony.
Ms. Heideman's career began with her Carnegie Hall debut, singing Handel's Messiah. Since this time, she has performed with major orchestras throughout the United States and Europe such as the Baltimore Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, Concert Artists of Baltimore, Berkshire Choral Festival, Pacific Symphony, Springfield Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Boston Baroque, Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra, Orquestra del Gran Teatre del Liceu, and the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra.
In addition to performing the staples of traditional concert repertoire, such as Haydn's Creation, Mozart's c-minor Mass, Handel's Messiah and Orff's Carmina Burana, Esther Heideman has featured prominently in the permieres of some of today's most respected contemporary composer. These have included the role of Jenny Lind in Libby Larsen's Barnum's Bird (Plymouth Music Series, Phillip Brunelle), Sister Angelica in The Three Hermits by Stephen Paulus, and The Revelation of St. John by Daniel Schnyder (with the Orquestra del Gran Teatre del Liceu under Sebastian Weigel and Milwaukee Symphony under Andreas Delfs), as well as Deus Passus by Wolfgang Rihm (Rotterdram Philharmonic, Markus Stenz).
Ms. Heideman has just returned to the US after more than a year abroad in Beijing, China. While living in China she continued to travel back and forth to the US for concerts, while also performing many concerts with the Beijing New Music Ensemble at the Chinese National Theatre. Some of her upcoming concerts include a return to the Aspen Music Festival to perform To Wake the Dead by Stephen Albert, performances of Mahler's 4th Symphony with Chippewa Valley Symphony, the role of Carolina in Cimarosa's The Secret Marriage with Aurora Opera, and the Premiere of Chinese Cantata by composer Eli Marshall, (which is being written for her), Handel's Messiah with the Cheyenne Symphony Orchestra, Mozart's Requiem and Davidde Penitente with the New Dominion Chorale, performances with the Rochester Symphony Orchestra and Bella Voce in MN, as well as Handel's Gloria, and several other concerts with the new Counterpoint String Ensemble in Washington, DC.
"...lovely sound."
Allan Kozinn New York Times
"Esther Heideman, the soprano, sang with a sweet, quivering voice as touchingly fragile as human life."
Tom Strini Journal Sentinel
