Soprano to perform at IU

When it comes to hitting the high notes in her career, American soprano Elizabeth Futral literally can't get much higher. \nHer talents are now so renowned that some roles are written specifically for her. And as a 1988 graduate from IU's School of Music, part of her success is due to the skills she learned in Bloomington.\nFutral will return to her alma mater July 17 as a part of the July portion of the annual Summer Music Festival. \nFor her Bloomington performance, Futral will perform many well-known parts of her diverse repertoire, including music by Claude Debussy, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Hugo Wolf; selections from Giulio Cesare and La Traviata; and songs written by composer Joseph Thalken on the poetry of E.E. Cummings.\nWhile studying at IU, Futral worked under Distinguished Professor of Voice and legendary soprano Virginia Zeani, who remains a part of the voice faculty in the School of Music. \nFutral credits Zeani and the competitiveness of the School of Music with helping her career initially advance. \n"Indiana is a huge music school with lots of competition," Futral said in an interview with USOperaWeb, an online opera magazine. "They have a big opera program, and I learned a lot about the opera world and what the business might be like when I got out."\nZeani, who has been a staff member at IU for more than 23 years, still coaches and advises aspiring singers and performance artists in her Bloomington studio. \nAfter Futral earned her degree from IU, she spent two years in the Chicago Lyric Opera apprentice program before beginning to accept major roles in operas. At this point in her career, Futral has played leading roles such as Stella in the world premiere of Andre Previn's "A Streetcar Named Desire," Juliette in Goudnod's "Roméo et Juliette," Mélisande in Debussy's "Pelléas et Mélisande," Violetta in Verdi's "La traviata," the title role in Douglas Moore's "The Ballad of Baby Doe," Cleopatra in George Frideric Handel's "Giulio Cesare" and more recently, the title role in Gaetano Donizetti's "Lucia di Lammermoor" in the Washington Opera's 2002-03 season. \nFutral's current project is an adaptation of "Anna Karenina," written specifically for her, which will open in the Miami Opera House in 2005.