"Dynamic...quite stirring" - BROADWAY WORLD
"Bizet might have customized the Gypsy for her rich, bronze low register and ringing top" - OPERA NEWS
Biography
Joyce Campana has made an international career on the operatic, theatrical and symphony stages. Equally accomplished in each genre, a constant through-line has always been for her, the creation of vivid, living characters. As a teacher, she is passionate about sharing her years of experience with her students.
Early Years in the Theatre
Beginning her career in New York City as an actress, Ms. Campana appeared on Broadway with Yul Brynner in The King and I as his first wife, Lady Thiang after touring with the show in a National Tour for an exciting year. Next, at The New York Shakespeare Festival -The Public Theatre she shared the stage with Mandy Patinkin in David Hare’s The Knife. At the reopening of The Papermill Playhouse in Milburn, New Jersey she portrayed the eccentric Bella Hedley in Robert and Elizabeth. Aldonza in Man of La Mancha has been a favorite role, portraying her in numerous productions alongside the likes of Richard Stilwell and John Kuether. Television audiences have seen Joyce in the role of Julie in The New Moon with New York City Opera, which was nationally broadcast as part of PBS’s “Great Performances” series.
Classical Artist
As a singing actress in the classical genre, Miss Campana then shifted her talents to Operatic and Symphonic work and found an abundant success. Representative companies with which she has performed include Dresden Semper Oper, Opera Ireland, New York City Opera, Dallas Opera, Atlanta Opera, Opera Omaha, Portland Opera, Anchorage Opera, Nevada Opera, The Opera Festival of New Jersey, Connecticut Grand Opera, Minnesota Opera, Orlando Opera, Cleveland Opera, Syracuse Opera, Opera Nevada, Central City Opera, Tampa Bay Opera, Lyric Opera Cleveland, Connecticut Opera, Pittsburgh Opera Theatre, among others. Performance credits include major orchestral works and many leading roles in opera and musical theatre, including the title roles in Der Rosenkavalier, La Cenerentola, L’Italiana in Algeri, Regina and Carmen - a favorite role of hers in which she collaborated with John Moriarty, Anton Coppola, Graeme Jenkins, Michael Ehrman, James de Blasis, Mildred Miller Posvar, Gary Race, Carl Gerbrandt, among others. Other favorite roles include Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Suzuki in Madama Butterfly, Charlotte in Werther, Prince Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus, Jenny in Three Penny Opera, Baba in The Rakes Progress and Mrs. Jones in Kurt Weill's Street Scene.
Contemporary and Symphonic
Joyce Campana's Symphonic highlights include performing as soloist with The New York Philharmonic, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Denver Symphony, Minnesota Symphony, Rockford Symphony, North Carolina Symphony, Evansville Philharmonic, Hartford Symphony, and Kasugai Symphony of Japan among others. Contemporary music performances of note include the role of Margret in Christopher Alden’s disquieting Dallas Opera production of Wozzeck and in the groundbreaking 20th Century opera, Six Characters in Search of an Author, in which she portrayed Madame Pace. Ms. Campana was also featured with the Denver Symphony in an Evening of Jerome Kern and with Opera Omaha in a concert devoted to Richard Rodgers – Richard Rodgers’ America. She collaborated with the Evansville Philharmonic in a concert featuring Cantaloube’s exotic Songs of the Auvergne and was Mezzo Soprano soloist with The Richmond Symphony in the Verdi Requiem.
Comedy, Film, Full Circle
Her facile comedic skills were displayed in a number of Gilbert and Sullivan roles, favorites being: Buttercup in HMS Pinafore with Anchorage Opera and Central City Opera and in Detroit with the Michigan Opera Theatre she portrayed a hilarious and touching Ruth in The Pirates of Penzance. Most recently, in New York City, Miss Campana portrayed Katisha in The Mikado at the famed City Center and later recreated the role at the Filene Center of Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts. Most recently, she came full circle to return to her theatre roots in an innovational production of Cabaret where she portrayed a breath taking Fräuline Schneider as a part of Atlanta Opera’s Come As You Are Festival at the historic Pullman Yards in Atlanta, Georgia. She is also pursuing film work as of late and can be seen in numerous commercials such as Prada, Bausch and Lomb and Hello Fresh!
Vocal Studio and Teaching
In addition to her performance career, Joyce Campana has found great success running a private vocal studio - a venture that has given her tremendous joy over the past 22 years. Many of her students have gone on to their own successful careers in New York City and around the country. She is fascinated with teaching students of all ages, each with their unique motivations for pursuing a musical journey.
To learn more about vocal study with Miss Campana, please scroll or click on the "Teaching" tab above. You may also contact Joyce personally, through text or phone. Her information can be found by clicking the "Connect" tab above. Scroll further, and connect with her directly from this website.
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GALLERY
Teaching
VOICE LESSONS
With the proper guidance, repertoire and practice your voice can develop to its fullest potential.
I can help you find your full vocal range, teach you a clear technique on breathing for singing and how to maximize your breath support which is an essential part of delivering a song.
Songs will be chosen to grow through, learn through and mature into! Some will be chosen by me and others will be chosen together to find the perfect fit for your collective repertoire book.
Last but certainly not least the emotions and message of a song will be worked and nurtured through acting techniques and sensory work.
I am looking forward to this exciting journey in music with you!
In Studio Private Lessons
Singing should be as easygoing and enjoyable as an exciting conversation!
Communication is key.
Once the building blocks are in place, students are free to express themselves in any genre of music with a wide range of emotions!
Online Lessons via Zoom
Since 2020, the employment of online lessons has become an eyeopener! I have found that the students who have worked with me in this capacity, have made tremendous progress in their technique - and from the comfort of their own homes!
For Professional Training
For Personal Enrichment
From the very first lesson, I create a safe, nurturing environment where exploration and discovering the student's true voice becomes effortless and natural! I would love to have you join me in an unforgettable journey of discovering how to express yourself through singing!
Videos and Recordings
Black Max - William Bolcom
Rosina/Figaro Duet - Il Barbiere di Siviglia
Dunque io son
My Hero - Oscar Straus
Fräulein Schneider - What Would You Do
Card Aria and Trio - Carmen
Mon coeur s'ouvre à ta voix -
Samson et Dalila
Madama Butterly Flower Duet Anchorage
Suzuki -Joyce Campana
Butterly - Cynthia Clayton
Critical Acclaim
SUZUKI - MADAMA BUTTERLY; PORTLAND, OREGON
"Portland Opera cast Suzuki and Sharpless richly, with mezzo Joyce Campana and baritone Robert Orth. Both are star-quality singers and accomplished actors, able to do much more with these roles than is often the case. ….. Campana was a marvel in the latter role. Each move and vocal inflection was redolent of sympathy and concern. It’s the first time this reviewer has understood so viscerally the intensity of Suzuki’s devotion." DEREK M. MILLS, OPERA NEWS
FRÄULEIN SCHNEIDER - CABARET ;
ATLANTA, GEORGIA
“Joyce Campana is a dynamic Fraulein Schneider, with spunk and gravitas without self-awareness of Germany's fate in the '40s. Her "What Would You Do?" is quite stirring.” BROADWAY WORLD
CARMEN;
CENTRAL CITY,
COLORADO
"For Carmen, artistic director John Moriarty had a terrific leading lady in mezzo soprano, Joyce Campana. Bizet might have customized the Gypsy for her rich, bronze low register and ringing top."
Glenn Giffen, OPERA NEWS
"But Joyce Campana! I had seen her the preceding year as Isabella in Italian Girl; I confess I was not prepared for her Carmen. This was no merely sensual Carmen, no merely ill-fated Carmen:
Campana brought such focused intelligence to the role that one understood the character's complexity; she gained human and therefore tragic stature. I cannot imagine a more fully realized portrayal-musically and dramatically."
Keith E. Sherburne, OPERA MONTHLY
"So it's a pleasure to report that the Central City Opera production of Carmen which opened on Saturday, is one hot night of theatre.
And Joyce Campana is one steamy Carmen.
Opera lovers will recall her zany Lucille Ball- flavored Italian Girl last summer. Back then, Campana was cute as a button.
This year, she is saucy, sexy, wild, driven and thoroughly engrossing. Making good use of her natural assets (grace, beauty and an expressive pair of eyes and unnatural ones (a thick, curly black wig), she didn't merely tease her suitors - she overwhelmed them with a body language that consisted of one word: sex!
All of this would be window dressing without the richly shaded, brilliantly sung performance by Campana. Her Carmen is brazen in her sexual posturing in Act I and yet has enough heart to be sincerely moved by Jose's Flower Song in a pivotal, and wonderfully handled moment in Act II. "
Marc Shulgold, THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS
*Joyce Campana's singing of the tile role ("Carmen") is dazzling. It fits her mezzo-soprano voice as though Bizet were doing a custom job of it. There is a rich bronze timbre at the bottom of her voice that shades to a ringing top and no discermible breaks. Even more, Campana lives the role, creating a character with whom the audience can easily identify, admire, sympathize. Too often the gypsy persona of Carmen becomes a cardboard facade. With Campana the role is three-dimensional."
Glenn Giffen, THE DENVER POST
"There is a moment in Central City Opera's production of Bizet's "Carmen", when the jealousy-crazed
Don Jose confronts Carmen one last time before the bloody conclusion of the opera.
Mezzo-soprano Joyce Campana, in black lace dress and mantilla, tells the bedraggled Don Jose to get lost - she no longer loves him. He threatens her, but she raises her head and standing with proud defiance, sings of herself: Free she was born and Free Carmen will die.
This one line sent a frisson of excitement through me. It encapsulated the strength and conviction of Campana's sterling gypsy - one of the best vocal and dramatic performances I've seen at Central City this or any other summer.
Jeff Bradley, THE DENVER POST
"Bizet's Carmen with Joyce Campana as Carmen and Gary Lehman as Don Jose, opened the Central City Opera Season for 1993 with all that we have to expect from this Company.
Most "Carmens", it seems never get past the flirtatious, manipulation first act to become either understandable or likable. Campana's Carmen is not one of these. Yes, she is in the beginning a beguiling, flirtatious, manipulating, sexy, and somewhat impish Gypsy having her fun at the expense of all her male admirers. But as the production progresses, she becomes a woman who is totally human and believable and for whom one comes to have great sympathy. Campana's voice is powerful with great beauty and depth. Her acting moves from fun and flirtation through fear and pathos. Her very sensitive face and eyes enhance all most effectively. The apparent ease of her singing amazes and delights, even as it did last year in Italian Girl. She's entitled to the show."
THE WEEKLY REGISTER CALL
"And in Joyce Campana, Ehrman has the ideal singer for the single minded woman that his gypsy femme fatale is.
Campana - first off - brings to the role a physical beauty so sensual and sizzling that it would easily transform Greenland into tropics.
She further plays the part with a dramatic identification that could not be greater, even if the opera had been written for her."
Wes Blomster, THE BOULDER DAILY CAMERA
CARMEN
NEVADA OPERA;
RENO, NEVADA
"Clearly the gypsy of the moment - and many moments to come, if the world's leading opera houses discover her exceptional talent - mezzo soprano Joyce Campana is a vocally superb Carmen, a spectacular leading lady and an engrossing presence every moment she's on stage.
Campana's Habanera rings true to Carmen's fiery temperament; her "Gypsy Song" was as vivacious as one is likely to hear. from one sultry outing with that rich, bronze lower range of hers to its effortless top, it's as if Bizet wrote "Carmen" especially for her.
Campana is Carmen: sexy, smoldering and dangerous."
Jack Neal, RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
ISABELLA;
L'ITALIANA IN ALGERI
SYRACUSE, NY
The cast had two stellar performers: Philip Cokorinos as Mustafa and Joyce Campana as Isabella."
"Playing off him, Campana was ideal. Right from her entrance you knew that the old tyrant had met his match. She can make a dramatic point with barely a gesture, and was in total command of a role that takes the voice over two octaves. Especially impressive was the ease with which she tossed off those coloratura passages."
Larry McGinn SYRACUSE POST-STANDARD
ISABELLA;
L'ITALIANA IN ALGERI
CENTRAL CITY; CO
"Wait till you see mezzo-soprano Joyce Campana as "The Italian Girl in Algiers," The sparkling Rossini comedy zestfully presented in a new Central City Opera production.
At the heart of the show is Campana's Isabella. She arrives in Algiers dressed like a 1920s flapper girl and finds herself wooed by three men. Campana's big, dark mischievous eyes and captivating smile perfectly catch the mood of Rossini's bubbling score.
Her mezzo is beautifully uniform in quality, her mastery of roulades, impressive, and her top secure."
Jeff Bradley THE DENVER POST
Most of all, thank Joyce Campana, as the charming manipulative title character Isabella. Campana, in her Central City debut, was garbed in '20s flapper girl get ups. Nonetheless, she looked divine. Blessed with Shelley Duvall eyes and Lucille Ball mouth, she sported an unending variety of expressions that never turned cartoonish. Check out her brilliant use of a full-length mirror to spy on her intruders.
If comic timing were her only virtue, Campana would be welcome back anytime. But that voice! True coloratura mezzos are about as rare as hitting the jackpot in Central City - and Campana qualifies for this vocal honor.
Campana dida't miss a trick. Has next season's Carmen been cast yet?"
Marc Shulgold ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS
"Without question, the star of the evening was a wonderful newcomer to Central City, Joyce Campana, who sang Isabella, the crafty and seductive Italian girl. A beautifully smooth contralto voice had she and a fascinating acting talent conveying worlds of meaning with a pout or raised eyebrow.”
Blair Chotzinoff KVOD RADIO
CARMEN
EVANSVILLE, ILLINOIS
"CAMPANA PRESENTS A RIVETING 'CARMEN'
"The Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by maestro Alfred Savia, was graced with Joyce Campana's riveting portrayal in the "Carmen" title role Saturday night.
Miss Campana's Carmen was sensuous, relaxed, humorous; she has a throaty and expressive dramatic mezzo voice that compares favorably with Callas' deepest tones. She was believable and sympathetic throughout the performance.
Under Savia's direction this Carmen was quite realistic; not a mere morality play with one evil woman and one nice woman. Campana's interpretation was intelligent, playful and tragic; irony and philosophy did not escape her."
Patty Aakhus THE EVANSVILLE COURIER
CAMPANA SINGS CHARACTER INTO CARMEN ... "Joyce Campana could not have fit the role of Carmen any better. What the audience saw was a steamy romance and a Carmen who knew no other way but to use her looks and her body to manipulate men. She had forward and immodest mannerisms that would embarrass many in the real world and within the operatic context her voice was her strongest weapon. The intonation and varying of vocal textures she employed make her part convincing!
This, it seems, is what opera is all about.... the ability of a performer to utilize musical techniques to create a character. It was a joy to see a singer who put the show first."
THE DOMINION POST
"Mezzo-soprano, Joyce Campana was riveting as Carmen. She flawlessly captured the willful spirit of her character with her energy and stellar voice. Campana was electrifying from the moment she walked on stage, commanding the audience's attention with her flirtatious demeanor and laughing spirit.
Campana was at her best, however, when portraying the feisty, independent nature of her character.
As she defiantly spurned Don Jose in the closing moments, Campana seemed truly convincing as she sang out the she would rather die than not be free to love. Regardless of the tragic outcome,
Carmen's free spirit will echo through these halls for some time to come.
Miriam Smith, THE NEW JOURNAL
ANGELINA -
LA CENERENTOLA;
CONNECTICUT OPERA
"Strong casting and a bright attractive production made Connecticut Grand Opera's La Cenerentola a success. In the title role, Joyce Campana showed off supple coloratura and seamless range, bringing a certain wry detachment to the role: this Cinderella seemed to know she was destined for better things. She saved the best for last, a "Nacqui all'affanno" that would have stirred the most cold-hearted of step-relations
Gilbert H. Mott, OPERA NEWS
"The success of the show mainly centered on two people: mezzo-soprano Joyce Campana, who winningly portrayed the title character; and director Linda Brovsky, who imparted both genuine humor and a delicate, tender-hearted core to the proceedings.
Vocally, Campana showed a major-league ability to negotiate the role's florid, almost excessively athletic musical demands. This kind of fioritura-filled singing is supposed to be something that nobody can do anymore, but she showed a sure command of this demanding style. In addition, she was a subtle and sympathetic actress, able to summon both deference and strength as the occasion required. "
Steve Metcalf, THE HARTFORD COURANT
"Joyce Campana plays a disarmingly genuine Cenerentola, unassuming, sincere, humble, and vocally brilliant. Her performance was touching in many ways, and in a Rossini opera, that's saying alot!"
Jerome R. Schulster, THE ADVOCATE
"Joyce Campana is a wonderful Cinderella. From her opening scene - for this staging is a fine chapter in the art of effective entrances and exits- Campana is endearing as the overworked stepdaughter, whose strength comes from a sweet innocence and sincerity.
First class and first-rate in the role, Campana makes a great entrance at the Prince's party, gorgeously gowned and greeted by a male chorus as she descends a long staircase. It is a terrific moment, especially when she treats us with her pure, faultless mezzo aria, decked out in Sunday best. Her voice is the flawless accompaniment to Cinderella's personality, again evidenced in her "love" aria with Thomsen's Prince, who himself takes a cue to shine in his determined aria. "
Joe Pronechen, CONNECTICUT POST
ANGELINA
LA CENERENTOLA;
LYRIC OPERA CLEVELAND
"Campana was well cast as Cinderella, making a stunning transformation from put-upon scullery maid to bride. Campana paced herself well in this demanding role. She sounded as fresh in the final scene as in the first.
Her voice had a relaxed tawny quality in the lower register that contrasted with a clear, polished sound in the upper register. She showed a musicality in details that was quite promising.
As an actress, Campana was convincing, despite a role that required her to forgive two stepsisters with utterly no redeeming virtues. "
Elaine Guregian, AKRON BEACON JOURNAL
ROSINA
IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA; PITTSBURGH OPERA THEATRE
"Most Charming is the Rosina of Joyce Campana, a delightful performer who makes every line interesting with subtle turns of phrase and vocal color. Her voice has a strong vibrato that reminds me of a great Rosina of the past, Conchita Supervia. Campana also has a brilliant top - - her ornaments yesterday touched a high C-sharp - and she uses the music to create character effectively.'
Robert Croan, PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE
"Joyce Campana, as Rosina, seemed to spark the audience every time she stepped on the stage. Like every performance in the opera, hers was a friendly one, using operatic ability with such ease, audience members were allowed to enjoy the emotions of the story without having to be constanty reminded through failing voice or straining face that the music itself is difficult."
THE NEWS JOURNAL
Campana's voice is an authentic mezzo, with a powerful bottom and an unstrained top. Campana's Rosina had more of the saucy, antagonistic edge Rossini intended. Her coloratura was accurate and purposeful."
John Guinn DETROIT FREE PRESS
KATISHA - MIKADO; NY GILBERT AND SULLIVAN PLAYERS
Truly outstanding in the vocal department was mezzo Joyce Campana as the villainess Katisha, complete with dragon-lady fingernails. And Campana's "Alone, and Yet Alive," was a glimpse into the soul of grand opera.
READINGEAGLE.COM
Connect
PERFORMANCE AND VOCAL STUDIO INQUIRIES:
Contact:
JOYCE CAMPANA
Phone/Text: 718 809-7707
For Campana Vocal Studio - Email: CampanaVocalStudio@gmail.com
For Performance Inquiries - Email: Campana.Joyce@gmail.com
"A beautifully smooth contralto voice had she and a fascinating acting talent conveying worlds of meaning" - KVOD RADIO