Biographical Info
. . The Beginning .
Luana DeVol was born in San Mateo, California, and an early interest in music led to five years study on the violin.	..
. .	She discovered her love for singing and began vocal study with Donald Stenberg. (Photo left)  She was engaged by the San Francisco Opera Chorus, and after winning in district Metropolitan Opera Auditions, travelled to London to study with renowned teacher, Vera Rosza.
She returned to San Francisco to continue her studies with the legendary Wagner tenor, Jess Thomas. (Photo right)	.
.. ..	She also worked with Janet Parlova (Photo left) with whom she still consults today.
She appeared extensively in concert in the San Francisco Bay Area, and first appeared as an opera soloist as Leonore in Beethoven’s FIDELIO, with Palo Alto’s West Bay Opera.
. . The 80s .
Luana DeVol made her European debut in 1983 with the Wuerttembergische Staatsoper in Stuttgart, Germany, as Leonore in FIDELIO.  Returning briefly to the United States, she appeared with the Seattle Opera as Leonore in Verdi’s LA FORZA DEL DESTINO, and with the San Francisco Opera in the title role of ARIADNE AUF NAXOS, with Christoph von Dohnanyi conducting.   In 1984, she became a member of the Aachen Stadttheater where she specialized in the operas of Strauss, Verdi, and Wagner. Her role debuts there included the Marschallin in DER ROSENKAVALIER (Photo right), Elisabetta in DON CARLOS, Senta in DER FLIEGENDE HOLLAENDER, Elsa in LOHENGRIN, as well as Agathe in DER FREISCHUETZ and  Donna Anna in DON GIOVANNI.   She was also engaged as a guest artist by the Deutsche Oper am Rhein as Senta, and in Bremerhaven as Puccini’s Tosca.
. .	In 1987 she was engaged by the Mannheim Nationaltheater where additional Strauss, Verdi and Wagner role debuts included Ariadne in ARIADNE AUF NAXOS, the Kaiserin in DIE FRAU OHNE SCHATTEN, Chryothemis in ELEKTRA, Amelia in UN BALLO IN MASCHERA, the title role in AIDA (Photo left), Elizabeth in THANNHAUESER, and her first Bruennhilde in SIEGFRIED.
While at Mannheim she also appeared as guest artist with the Nederlandse Oper, Hamburg Staatsoper, and the Frankfurt Oper. At the Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin (Linden Oper) she made her house and role debut as Carl Maria von Weber’s EURYANTHE. Other role debuts were as Rezia in Weber’s OBERON for the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, and as Ellen Orford in Britten’s PETER GRIMES for the Zurich Opera. Also in demand as a concert singer she was invited  by the Wiener Symphoniker to sing Franz Schreker’s  CHRISTOPHORUS and IRRELOHE of which the recording of the latter has been released by Sony (Photo right).
. . 1990 .
	In 1990 she made her house debuts at La Scala, Milan, as Leonore in FIDELIO under the baton of Lorin Maazel, at the Salzburg Easter Festival in the same role with Kurt Masur conducting, at the Bayerische Staatsoper as Agathe in Weber’s DER FREISCHUETZ under the baton of Otmar Suitner, and at the Bayreuth Festival as Bruennhilde in SIEGFRIED with Daniel Barenboim conducting. The following year she appeared by invitation from Wolfgang Wagner to sing Elsa in his production of LOHENGRIN conducted by Guiseppe Sinopoli at the Taormina Festival in Sicily. With Sinopoli, she appeared in concert at the Academi di Santa Cecilia as the 3rd Norn and Gutrune in GOETTERDAEMMERUNG.
. . 1991 .
In 1991 she returned to the Wuerttembergische Staatsoper alternating the roles of Donna Anna and Donna Elvira in DON GIOVANNI. The same year she recorded her CD, ROMANTISCHE OPERNARIAS, conducted by Ralf Weikert.
. . 1992 .
	Her Vienna State Opera debut occurred on January 26, 1992 as Elisabeth in THANNHAUESER (Photo left).   Other roles there included Ariadne, the Marschallin, Senta, Elsa and the FIDELIO Leonore.   She sang another role debut at the Bayerische Staatsoper as Marina in Dvorak’s DIMITRI.
At the same house, she was invited to sing the Kaiserin in a new production of DIE FRAU OHNE SCHATTEN by Ennosuke Ichikawa under the baton of Wolfgang Sawallisch in performances which opened the new hall in Nagoya, Japan  (Photo right with Peter Seiffert).	.  .
. . 1993 .
	In 1993 Luana DeVol’s many collaborations with conductor Horst Stein included appearances with the Bamberger Symphoniker in the Mahler 8th Symphony which dedicated the orchestra’s new hall, and was invited by Professor Sawallisch to sing the Beethoven 9th Symphony which opened his first Season as Music Director of the Philadelphia Orchestra.   At the Staatsoper Berlin she made her role debut as Marta in d’Albert’s TIEFLAND (Photo left) with Gunther Neuhaus conducting.
. . 1994 .
1994 saw Luana DeVol singing at the Chatelet Opera in Paris as the Kaiserin in an award winning  production by Andreas Homoki, and at the Dresden Semperoper as Amelia in UN BALLO IN MASCHERA in a new production by Peter Konwitschny conducted by Ingo Metzmacher.  (Photo right: P.Konwitschny in rehearsal with Ludwig Baumann and Luana DeVol)
. .	In Munich she sang the Beethoven 9th with the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks with Lorin Maazel conducting.  (Photo left with Lorin Maazel)
. . 1995 .
The following year, 1995, saw her role debuts at the Bayerische Staatsoper as Carl Orff’s ANTIGONAE with Peter Schneider conducting, and at the Dresden Semperoper as Marie in R. Strauss’ FRIEDENSTAG in the production by Peter Konwitschny and Stefan Soltesz (Photo right) conducting.   With the VARA RADIO of the Netherlands, she appeared in the title role of DAS WUNDER DER HELIANE with Edo de Waart conducting.  And with Horst Stein conducting the Bamburg Symphoniker, Luana DeVol sang Wagner in a concert tour of Japan.
. . 1996/97
.
	With the 1996-1997 Season Luana DeVol began her survey of the dramatic soprano repertoire.  She sang her first Isolde in Wagner’s TRISTAN UND ISOLDE in Staatstheater Braunschweig in a production directed by Brigitte Fassbaender (Photo left with Gary Bachlund)  and conducted by Philippe Augin.
This was followed by TRISTAN in Mexico City with Sergio Vela directing and Guido Maria Guida conducting, and yet another new production at the Oper Leipzig by Willy Decker conducted by Jiri Kout. (Photo right from Leipzig)	. .
	At the Basel Theater, she sang her role debut as ELEKTRA (Photo left) in Andreas Homoki’s production conducted by Stephan Lano and Olaf Henzold.
. . 1998 .
Luana DeVol’s role debut as Bruennhilde in Wagner’s DIE WALKÜRE occurred in 1998, first in concert in Prague with Hans Wallat (Photo right) conducting, and then in Ravello, Italy under Tony Palmer’s direction.
. .	At La Scala, Milan, she sang her role debut as Bruennhilde in Wagner’s GOETTERDAEMMERUNG (Photo left) in the production by Janos Kokos conducted by Ricardo Muti.
At the Essen Musiktheater she sang her role debut as the Faerberin (Dyer’s Wife) in Strauss’ DIE FRAU OHNE SCHATTEN conducted by Stefan Soltesz. (Photo right with Wolfgang Brendel)   Also in 1998, Luana DeVol sang Chrysothemis in Strauss’ ELEKTRA with Friedemann Layer conducting at the Montpellier Music Festival
. . 1999  .
	In 1999 she appeared as guest at La Scala, Milan, as the Faerberin with Guiseppe Sinopoli conducting, at the Prinzregenten Theater, Munich, as Isolde with Lorin Maazel conducting. (Photo left: Isolde in Munich by kind permission of Anne Kirchbach)
At the Deutsche Opera Berlin she was alternating as both the Kaiserin and the Faerberin (Photo right) in performances conducted by Christian Thielemann.	. .
	In the same year Luana DeVol sang two role debuts at the Basel Musiktheater singing Ortrud in Wagner's LOHENGRIN and Lady in Verdi's MACBETH (Photo left).   In concert she sang Bruennhilde in GOETTERDAEMMERUNG at the Rome Opera, and at Linz with the Bruckner Orchestra with Roberto Paternostro conducting, as well as ELEKTRA in Helsinki with Leif Segerstrom conducting.
. . 2000
.
At the Wuerttembergische Staatsoper in Stuttgart she sang Bruennhilde in GOETTERDAEMMERUNG in the award winning production by Peter Konwitschny conducted by Lothar Zagrosek. (Photo right with Albert Bonnema)
. . 2001 .
	With the exception of Strauss in Dresden (Faerberin) and the Beethoven 9th in Pittsburg with Michael Stern conducting, 2001 was devoted to the works of Richard Wagner. Luana DeVol appeared at the Wels Wagner Festival as Bruennhilde in DIE WALKUERE (Photo left with Festival director Renate Doppler and Singer Alfred Muff)
In the summer, she appeared at the Bayreuth Festival as Bruennhilde in the RING cycle which was produced by Juergen Flimm and conducted by Adam Fischer.  With Christian Thielemann at the Deutsche Oper Berlin she sang Isolde in TRISTAN UND ISOLDE, as well as Bruennhilde in GOETTERDAEMMERUNG. (Photo right with Luana's son Brian Noble having a coffee in Bayreuth)	. .
. . 2002 .
	In 2002 her ELEKTRA was heard in Strasbourg in a new production by Stefan Braunschweig conducted by Jan Latham Koenig, in concert in Dublin, and in Monte Carlo with Marek Janowski conducting.   In Paris Luana DeVol sang  at the Bastille Opera in a new production of DIE FRAU OHNE SCHATTEN  (Photo left) by Robert Wilson conducted by Peter Schneider. The singer also added two new roles:  the first at the Deutsche Oper Berlin as Kundry in Wagner’s PARSIFAL under the baton of Christian Thielemann, and the second at the Aalto Theater in Essen as the title figure in Bellini’s NORMA with Stefan Soltesz conducting. She returned to the Wels Wagner Festival as Brünnhilde in SIEGFRIED and sang the RING cycle at the Vienna State Opera with Donald Runnicles conducting.
. . 2003/2004 .
The year 2003 was devoted again mostly to Wagner with complete RING cycles at the Deutsche Oper Berlin with Christian Thielemann conducting, and at the Vienna State Opera with Peter Schneider conducting.   In Madrid she sang the Bruennhildes in DIE WALKÜRE and SIEGFRIED in Willy Decker’s production conducted by Peter Schneider.  (Photo right with Alfons Eberz)    Role debuts in 2003 were at the Aalto Theater in Essen as the title role in Strauss’ AEGYPTISCHE HELENA,  and at the San Francisco Opera where she opened the Season as  Susan B. Anthony in  Virgil Thomsons’ MOTHER OF US ALL.   In concert she was to be heard in Copenhagen's Tivoli Gardens in  2003 as ELEKTRA, and was invited back the following year for a solo concert with Michael Boder conducting. Also she appeared as ELEKTRA at the Verbier Festival in Switzerland under the baton of James Levine.
. . 2005 .
.The Ichikawa DIE FRAU OHNE SCHATTEN traveled to Madrid in 2005 where she sang the Faerberin for the first time in this production in performances conducted by Pinkas Steinberg.  Her Faerberin was also heard at the Frankfurt Oper in the production by Christoph Nel conducted by Sebastian Weigl, and also at the Deutsche Oper Berlin conducted by Christian Thielemann.
. .(Photo shows Franz Grundheber, Luana DeVol, Glenn Winslade, Deborah Voigt, Christian Thielemann and Jane Henschel)
. .	Luana DeVol sang yet another role and house debut in the title role of Puccini's TURANDOT in Barcelona, Spain in a production by Nuria Espert conducted by Giuliano Carella.
She also was invited by the Richard Strauss Festival and the Vienna State Opera to perform ELEKTRA in a concert which was performed in Oberammergau, and also sang at Mannheim Nationaltheater to open the 2005-2006 Season in a Gala Concert with tenor Johann Botha conducted by Frederic Chaslin  At the Wuerttembergische Staatsoper in Stuttgart she triumphed in the final performances of the Konwitschny GOETTERDAEMMERUNG, which the audience honored with more than  20 minutes ovation.
. .
Luana DeVol was warmly welcomed back to America for her Metropolitan Opera Debut on April 17, 2006 as Ortrud in Robert Wilson's artistic staging of LOHENGRIN (Photographs above taken by Beth Bergman). . In July 2006, she appeared in the same role for Barcelona's highly original staging of the same opera by Peter Konwitschny under the baton of Sebastian Weigle. . She returns to the extreme role of TURANDOT in Torino in October 2006, and follows in November and December with the "Mother" in HANSEL AND GRETEL for Los Angeles. . Scheduled for 2007 are performances in Dresden as "Die Frau" in DIE FRAU OHNE SCHATTEN, in Stuttgart as ELEKTRA, and in Munich as "Kundry" in PARSIFAL.   July of 2006 saw the soprano in Barcelona where she portrayed “bad girl” Ortrud in Peter Konwitschny’s controversial LOHENGRIN.  This award winning production has been released as a DVD and features daughter-in-law, Emily Magee, as Elsa.   TURANDOT in Torino, Italy followed in October with tenors Jose Cura and Frank Porrino sharing Calaf duties.   And as a Christmas Cameo, Luana DeVol appeared as Gertude, The Mother, in the Los Angeles Opera’s production of HANSEL AND GRETEL.   The year 2007 began first with a Master Class for the University of Nevada Las Vegas before DeVol flew to Dresden, Germany for performances of DIE FRAU OHNE SCHATTEN in February and March.  Also in March, Stuttgart heard her ELEKTRA, and Dresden her “Dyer’s Wife” in DIE FRAU OHNE SCHATTEN.   In April, Luana DeVol sang performances at the Bavarian State Opera’s production of PARSIFAL with John Tomlinson and Niel Schicuff, and Peter Schneider conducting.  May saw DeVol again in Stuttgart for ELEKTRA after which the singer returned home for a MASTER CLASS in June for West Bay Opera.   After the summer hiatus, DeVol returned to Europe for a concert GOETTERDAEM-MERUNG in September with Peter Schneider conducting.  And, in October, the singer made her house debut in the Buenos Aires famed Teatro Colon singing ELEKTRA.   Returning to her home in Las Vegas, DeVol worked with Las Vegas Philharmonic’s founding conductor and conductor emeritus, Hal Weller, in founding his newest project, the Foundation to Assist Young Musicians (FAYM) for which the singer held a concert in her home.   Ringing in the New Year 2008 over the Atlantic, Luana DeVol sang the Bruennhilde in Goetz Friedrich’s legendary production of Wagner’s Ring Cycle, and in February, sang TURANDOT in Dresden.   March saw the singer in Essen for ELEKTRA, where in June she returned for DIE FRAU OHNE SCHATTEN where her knee injury got the best of her, and she was forced to withdraw from further stage performances.   In the fall of 2008, she was invited by the University of Nevada Las Vegas to direct the advanced opera workshop class and to teach voice, where she enjoys her position as a member of the vocal faculty.   In May of 2009 she will lead her 3rd Annual Master Class for West Bay Opera for the winners of the Henry Holt scholarship auditions.   *   *   *   *   Due to a knee injury, which surfaced in January 2008, and culminated in surgery in July 2008, Luana DeVol has withdrawn from performing her major roles on stage.   In the fall of 2008, she was invited to teach the advanced opera workshop and private voice at the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV), where she maintains a home.  Students are benefiting from her 25 years of performing in the greatest opera houses of the World, while working with the most innovative stage directors and the most demanding conductors of the day.   She continues to give Master Classes, and maintains a private studio in addition to her University students.   Singers who already have advanced careers seek her out for consultation or for intensive study in Las Vegas.