Jaime Webb

About

Jaime Marie Webb, soprano, has captivated audiences across the U.S. and internationally with her “clarity and controlled power.” Praised for her “nuances, high notes, and scales,” she creates “emotional moments that underscore the drama” (Periódico Noroeste).

Most recently, she appeared as Violetta Valéry in La traviata at the Teatro Ángela Peralta in Mazatlán, Mexico, sang the role of Mavis in The Fantastic Mr. Fox at Opera Omaha under the baton of Grammy-winning conductor Gil Rose, and made her debut at Salle Gaveau in Paris performing scenes from her signature roles, Lucia and Violetta.

Her full operatic roles span a wide range of lyric coloratura repertoire, including Norina (Don Pasquale), Rosina (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Musetta (La Bohème), Hanna Glawari (Die lustige Witwe), and Susanna (Le Nozze di Figaro).  In concert performance, Webb has also interpreted Manon (Manon), Konstanze (Die Entführung aus dem Serail), the Controller (Flight), Adina (L’elisir d’amore), Cunégonde (Candide), and Lakmé (Lakmé). Her musical theater repertoire in concert includes Baroness Elsa (The Sound of Music), Philia (A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum), Marian (The Music Man), Christine Daaé (The Phantom of the Opera), Jane Doe (Ride the Cyclone) and Girl in 14G. She has performed with esteemed companies and festivals including Cedar Rapids Opera, Opera Omaha, Escenia Ensamble, Annapolis Opera, Charlottesville Opera, the International Summer Opera Festival of Morelia, Opera at Florham, AIMS in Graz, and the Hawaiʻi Performing Arts Festival. Her career spans regional, national, and international stages, from the Orpheum and Paramount Theater to Hilo Palace and Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, as well as internationally at the Teatro Ocampo in Morelia, the Vatican, and the Landeskrankenhaus Kirche in Graz, Austria.

As a teacher, director, and artist-activist, Webb explores the interdisciplinary nature of being a 21st-century musician. Webb’s teaching focuses on each student’s development of their unique instrument, facilitating a free, healthy, and sustainable sound in a variety of genres, including classical voice, opera, musical theater, jazz, and commercial music. At Luther College, Webb currently teaches Applied Voice Lessons, Class Voice, Opera Scenes, chairs the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Advisory Board and serves as the faculty advisor for three dance groups on campus. Webb draws on her vast community engagement experience from her service as the Lead Vocal Teaching Artist with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s outreach programming and as a Holland Community Opera Fellow at Opera Omaha, focusing on the voice as a tool for connection.

Passionate about inclusivity in operatic storytelling, Webb founded QueerPOPERA, a nonprofit dedicated to amplifying LGBTQ+ narratives through opera, particularly in the Midwest of the United States, where affirming artistic spaces can be limited. Through this work, she creates platforms for queer artists to tell their stories boldly and for audiences to experience opera’s emotive power. Rooted in opera’s deeply queer history and her own longing for greater representation, this mission extends into authorship. In collaboration with her mother, Reverend Kari Webb, she is co-librettist of A Bridge Between, an opera exploring the tensions and tenderness between a queer daughter and her deeply religious mother, seeking to bridge divides of belief and identity.

An avid concert performer and champion of new music, Webb has premiered numerous contemporary works and collaborated closely with living composers, with a particular focus on amplifying the voices of women creators. She partnered with the Lied Center for Performing Arts in a tribute concert honoring Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, featuring works by and interviews with Patricia Michaels, Stacy Garrop, Vivian Fung, and Lori Laitman. She has also premiered thirteen songs for Opera Omaha’s Poetry & Music Project, the world premiere of Dave Gardner’s Chorus of Psalms, and works by Alexis C. Lamb, Camille Balleza, and Brooke Joyce.

A sought-after panelist, Webb has been featured on the Gender and Opera panel at the Georgia Women and Girls Conference, The University of Georgia’s Musicology Symposium, and Opera America’s Teaching Artist Network. Her academic research is focused on gender and sexuality within the opera industry.

Webb is a former Dr. Carl S. Hoveland Opera Fellow at The University of Georgia Opera Theater and currently studies with internationally renowned soprano and pedagogue Julia Faulkner, Director of Vocal Studies at the Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center.