ABOUT
"The astonishing presence of lyric soprano Stacey Fraser…"
- Jennifer de Poyen, San Diego Union Tribune
Short Biography
Canadian-born soprano Stacey Fraser is known for her expressive versatility, fearless artistry, and commanding stage presence. Praised by Alex Ross in The New York Times for her “wonderfully controlled soprano voice” and by the San Diego Union-Tribune for her “astonishing presence,” Fraser has established an acclaimed international career encompassing opera, contemporary music, concert performance, and interdisciplinary theatrical works throughout North America, Asia, and Europe.
An adventurous and versatile artist, Fraser is recognized for her ability to move seamlessly between traditional repertoire and innovative contemporary works. Her performances have earned particular acclaim for their musical precision, dramatic intensity, and distinctive theatricality. Mark Swed praised her interpretation of Luciano Berio’s Sequenza III as “a seamless aria, sure of musical direction while missing none of the humor or the frightening shocks of horror.”
A two-time award recipient from the National Endowment for the Arts, Fraser’s diverse body of work includes the title role in Peter Maxwell Davies’s Miss Donnithorne’s Maggot; a starring role in Still Life After Death, a music art film by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Sandra Powers; and the premiere of Grammy Award-winning composer Jack Van Zandt’s song cycle A Chaos of Light and Motion, composed specifically for her. She also directed and produced the first college production of Philip Glass and Robert Wilson’s landmark opera Einstein on the Beach.
Recent projects include a new recording of Ben Johnston’s Calamity Jane to Her Daughter for MicroFest Records, as well as an album collaboration with Jack Van Zandt featuring A Chaos of Light and Motion and excerpts from his NEA Award-winning opera The New Frontier, released on Neuma Records.
As a director and producer, Fraser continues to champion innovative, socially engaged performance. Her recent work includes a staged adaptation of the AIDS Quilt Songbook presented at the Indian Wells Theatre in Palm Desert, California. She is also a core member of the critically acclaimed Brightwork Ensemble.
She serves as Director of Opera Theatre and Endowed Professor at California State University, San Bernardino, where she mentors and inspires the next generation of performers, directors, and creative artists.
Long Biography
Canadian-born soprano Stacey Fraser is recognized for her fearless artistry, dramatic versatility, and commitment to expanding the possibilities of vocal performance. Equally at home in opera, contemporary music, concert repertoire, and interdisciplinary theatre, she has built an international career defined by curiosity, collaboration, and a passion for championing new work. Alex Ross of The New York Times praised her "wonderfully controlled soprano voice," while the San Diego Union-Tribune hailed her "an astonishing presence."
Her performances have taken her to leading stages and festivals throughout the United States, Canada, Asia, and Europe, with appearances as a soloist for San Diego Opera, the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, La Jolla Playhouse, Taipei National Concert Hall, Musicasa Concert Hall in Tokyo, Vancouver Symphony, South Dakota Symphony, La Jolla Symphony, San Bernardino Symphony, Banff Centre, Tanglewood Music Center, Asia Society New York, and the internationally renowned La MaMa Experimental Theatre. She has also been featured at ISCM Taiwan, the Thailand Composition Festival, the Americké Jaro Festival in the Czech Republic, Festival Eduardo Mata in Oaxaca, Mexico, and Hong Kong's Red Square Gallery.
"Stacey Fraser made the Sequenza into a seamless aria, sure of musical direction while missing none of the humor or the frightening shocks of horror..."
-Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times
A passionate advocate for contemporary music, Fraser has become a sought-after interpreter of both established masterworks and newly commissioned repertoire. Her performances have earned acclaim from The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Classical Voice, The WholeNote, PAN M 360, Sequenza21, I Care If You Listen, and numerous other international publications. Reviewing her performance of Berio's Sequenza III, Mark Swed of the Los Angeles Times described it as "a seamless aria, sure of musical direction while missing none of the humor or the frightening shocks of horror."
Her repertoire spans iconic twentieth-century works and world premieres alike. Highlights include the title role in Peter Maxwell Davies' Miss Donnithorne's Maggot with Brightwork newmusic, Mathew Rosenblum's Falling in collaboration with choreographer Faith Jensen-Ismay, the Canadian premiere of Robert Xavier Rodriguez's Concert Suite from Frida, and Anna I in Kurt Weill's Die sieben Todsünden. Recent projects include performances of Jack Van Zandt's NEA-supported monodrama The New Frontier with Grammy Award-winning pianist Nadia Shpachenko and the continued development of Pamela Madsen's NEA-awarded opera Why Women Went West.
"Stacey Fraser sang the central role with a wonderfully controlled soprano voice…"
- Alex Ross, New York Times
Fraser's advocacy for new music extends beyond the stage. She appears on recordings released by ein Klang, Bridge Records, Voices of the Pearl, MicroFest Records, and Neuma Records, and is the featured performer in Still Life After Death, an art film by multiple Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Sandra Powers featuring music by Grawemeyer Award-winning composer Chinary Ung.
As a producer and stage director, Fraser is known for imaginative, visually dynamic productions that reimagine opera for contemporary audiences. Her directing credits encompass works by Bernstein, Mozart, Humperdinck, Offenbach, Donizetti, John Adams, Missy Mazzoli, Robert Xavier Rodriguez, Poulenc, Philip Glass, Robert Wilson, Maury Yeston, Schumann, Schubert, Vernon Duke, Bizet/Brook, Weill, and Piazzolla. She has collaborated extensively with choreographer Faith Jensen-Ismay on original interdisciplinary productions, served as assistant director to Kelly Robinson on Don Giovanni at Banff Centre's Opera as Theatre program, and in 2025 directed and produced the world premiere staged adaptation of The AIDS Quilt Songbook.
A two-time recipient of National Endowment for the Arts Arts Project Awards, Fraser was also named Favorite Opera Singer (Los Angeles Division) in the 2025 San Francisco Classical Voice Audience Choice Awards.
She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts in Contemporary Music Performance from the University of California, San Diego, a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from the Manhattan School of Music, and a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Toronto. She is Endowed Professor and Director of Opera Theatre at California State University, San Bernardino, a core member of the critically acclaimed Brightwork ensemble, and a member of AGMA, Canadian Actors' Equity Association, NATS, and the Recording Academy.