BIO
Australian soprano Janet Szepei Todd is a lively and versatile singer based in Los Angeles.
She completed her Master of Music at the Manhattan School of Music in New York in 2016 where she performed roles including Cecile in Conrad Susa’s Dangerous Liaisons, Konstanze in Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Noemie in Massenet’s Cendrillon and Angelica in Michael Dellaira’s new opera The Leopard in conjunction with New York Opera Projects. She has since sung world premieres of new chamber works including a song cycle by US composer Marjorie Merryman, and Roger Nierenberg amongst others. Other performance highlights while in New York include soprano soloist in Mozart’s C Minor Mass, and soprano soloist in Mahler’s Symphony of a Thousand in a collaboration with the Manhattan School of Music and the New York Oratorio Society.
In 2023, Janet performed the role of Setsuko in Jack Perla's An American Dream with Opera Santa Barbara. She also sung the role of Ippolita in the US Premier of Vivaldi's Ercole s'ul Termodonte with Pacific Opera Project. With Pacific Opera Project, she has also performed Yum Yum in The Mikado, Mimi in La Boheme, as well as Cio-Cio San in their bilingual production of Madama Butterfly, performed in Japanese and English. Janet has also performed the role of Cio-Cio San with Opera Columbus in 2018.
In her home town of Melbourne, Australia, Janet made her debut with Victorian Opera in 2011 as Pamina in The Magic Flute, going on to perform Liesgen in Bach’s Coffee Cantata (for which she was nominated for an Australian Green Room Award for best principal female artist), Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier for their 2012 Gala Concert and The Prince in Cinderella pantomime (Gill) . With Opera Australia Janet performed Pamina in The Magic Flute in their 2014 Opera on the Beach spectacular, and for Opera Australia’s Oz Opera she has performed the roles of both Donna Elvira (2013) and Zerlina (2012) in Don Giovanni. She was soprano soloist in The Australian Ballet’s double bill Elegy singing Faure’s Requiem, as well as their Vanguard tripe bill program singing Pergolese’s Stabat Mater. For Pinchgut Opera, Sydney, she performed the role of Miss Hawk in Salieri’s The Chimney Sweep, and Zelmira in Haydn’s Armida. Janet sung the title role in Handel’s Esther with Canberra's Handel in the Theatre, and Iole in their production of Handel’s Hercules. In the music theater world, Janet performed Marsinah in Kismet with The Production Company, State Theatre. She has also appeared as a soprano soloist with The Sydney Philharmonia, Perth Symphonic Chorus/Baroque Orchestra, and many other organisations throughout Australia.
Awards and prizes include Opera Foundation Australia AIMS Award as well as the AIMS Sundell Study award (2010), runner up in The Herald Sun Aria (2009), she was the recipient of a Dame Nellie Melba Opera Trust Scholarship (2010, 2011 and 2012), won an Ian Potter Cultural Institute Award (2014) and was awarded the Dame Heather Begg Award (2014).
Janet is also a current member of the Los Angeles Opera chorus, and the Los Angeles Master Chorale.