Photo courtesy of Edward McCranie
Lyric coloratura soprano, Díana Thompson-Brewer, is lauded for her “aplomb and sparkling '' vocal pyrotechnics and her nuanced character portrayals. Díana made her professional operatic debut in the role of Adele in Strauss II's Die Fledermaus and has since amassed an array of soprano roles that range from the pinnacle of coloratura sopranos - Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor - to the fiercest queen of all opera - Queen of the Night in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte. Other operatic credits include Magda in Puccini's La rondine, Musetta in Puccini's La bohème, Clara in Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, Zerbinetta from Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos, Susanna in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, Mlle Silberklang in Mozart's Die Schauspieldirektor, Sister Genevieve in Puccini's Suor Angelica, Beth & Amy in Mark Adamo's Little Women, Millie in Libby Larsen's Picnic, Belinda in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, Vi in Gershwin's Blue Monday, Mrs. McDowell in Hailstork's Rise for Freedom, and Eden in the world premiere of Galaxies in Her Eyes.
Díana has performed with L'Orchestre de Chambre de Genève, Opera Carolina, North Carolina Opera, Opera on the James, Greensboro Opera, Mobile Opera, Augusta Opera, Opera Wilmington, Miami Lyric Opera, GLOW, and other regional companies and festivals. In addition to opera, Díana has been a soprano soloist in Barber's Knoxville: Summer of 1915 , Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, Haydn’s The Creation, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Handel’s Messiah, Bach’s Cantata 4, Haydn’s Mass in Time of War, Vivaldi’s Magnificat, and Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy and also made her Musical Theatre debut as Sarah in Flaherty’s iconic musical Ragtime.
This Fall, she will reprise the role of Musetta in Puccini's La bohème with Opera on the James in Lynchburg, VA where she sang the title role of Magda in Puccini's other lesser-performed masterpiece, La rondine just last November. She will also reprise the role of Isabella in the play with music titled The Passion of Mary Cardwell Dawson with internationally acclaimed opera singer, Denyce Graves, with North Carolina Opera in Raleigh, NC where she sang the role of Clara in Gershwin's Porgy & Bess in the Spring of 2023; she most recently sang the role of Isabelle in The Passion with Opera Carolina this past February.
Díana holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Georgia (Presidential Fellow), a Master of Music degree from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and a Bachelor of Music degree from Augusta State University, all in Vocal Performance.