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The Japanese-born American alto/mezzo-soprano, Stephanie-Eimi Witmer, commenced playing the piano at age six. She sang in renaissance ensemble in her teenage under the direction of Midori Suzuki. After two years of studies at the Kunitachi College of Music (Japan), she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Early Music Singing in 2015 at the Royal Conservatoire of The Hague (2012-2015), where she currently earns her Master’s degree. She is recently coached by Catrin Wyn-Davies and Noa Frenkel. She enriched her musical pallet studying with Peter Kooy, Michael Chance, Jill Feldman, Robin Blaze, Pascal Bertin and Dorothee Mields. She participated in master-classes with Mike Fentross (French airs de cour, English airs & Italian Madrigal); George Frideric Handel's Rinaldo (Rinaldo) & Monteverdi's Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria (Penelope) with Michael Chance.
As for the theatre studies, Eimi Witmer worked with directors such as Philip Curtis, Elsina Jansen, David Prins, Gusta Gerritsen, Sigrid T’Hooft, Meise Hummel and Pierre Audi. She interpreted the roles of Cherubino in W.A. Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, Carmen in Georges Bizet's Carmen, Charlotte in Werther, Dritte Dame in W.A. Mozart's Die Zauberflote, Sesto in George Frideric Handel's Giulio Cesare in Egitto.
Eimi Witmer sang both the solo & choir in numerous performances of cantatas by J.S. Bach. Her recent solo/ensemble performances include J.S. Bach’s Matthew Passion (BWV 244), John Passion (BWV 245), Mass in B minor (BWV 232) (Alto/2nd Soprano) & Magnificat (BWV 243) (2nd Soprano), Antonio Vivaldi’s Dixit Dominus, Gloria, Magnificat (Alto), Jan Dismas Zelenka's Litaniae de Venerabili Sacramento in C with Patrick Ayrton, Monteverdi's Selve Morale e Spirituale with Charles Toet, G.F. Handel's Messiah, Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas (Spirit & 2nd witch), W.A. Mozart's Requiem in D, Felix Mendelssohn's Elijah, Louis Andriessen's De staat with Reinbert de Leeuw, C. Vivier’s Journal with Manoj Kamps and M.A. Charpentier's Leçons de ténèbres (2nd Soprano).
In 2015, Eimi Witmer toured in Norway and the Netherlands with The Castello Consort singing 17th century Italian music. In 2017, she sang the 4th Ingrate in C. Monteverd’s Il Ballo delle ingrate with Les Talens Lyriques (Director: Christophe Rousset) (Dutch National Opera / Brighton Early Music Festival). |
