Violinist turned author ERICA MINER has had a multi-faceted career as an award-winning screenwriter, author, lecturer and poet. A native of Detroit, she studied violin at Boston University with Boston Symphony Orchestra concertmaster Joseph Silverstein, where she graduated cum laude; the New England Conservatory of Music, and the Tanglewood Music Center, summer home of the Boston Symphony, where she performed with such celebrated conductors as Leonard Bernstein. She continued her studies with Mr. Silverstein at the New England Conservatory of Music, and went on to perform with the prestigious Metropolitan Opera Orchestra for twenty-one years, where she worked closely with much-respected maestro James Levine and numerous other luminaries of the opera world. After retiring from the Met, Erica drew upon her lifelong love for writing as her creative outlet and studied screenwriting in Los Angeles with screenplay guru Linda Seger. Erica’s screenplays awards include such recognized competitions as Santa Fe and the Writer’s Digest. Her debut novel, TRAVELS WITH MY LOVERS, won the Fiction Prize in the Direct from the Author Book Awards. Subsequent published novels include the first in Erica’s FOUREVER FRIENDS novel series chronicling four teenage girls coming of age in the volatile 60s. ARIA FOR MURDER, a novel of assassination and intrigue at the Metropolitan Opera, the first in her Julia Kogan Opera Mystery series published by Level Best Books, has won rave reviews across the board. The sequel, PRELUDE TO MURDER, received a glowing report ('A skillfully written whodunit of operatic proportions') from the prestigious Kirkus Reviews (https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/erica-miner/prelude-to-murder/). Erica’s lectures, seminars and workshops have received kudos on both coasts and in Australia, and she has won top ratings as a special lecturer for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. An active contributor to BroadwayWorld.com, Backtrack.com and LAOpus.com, she also contributed a monthly “Power of Journaling” article series for the National Association of Baby Boomer Women newsletter. Other writings have appeared in Vision Magazine, WORD San Diego, Istanbul Our City, and numerous E-zines. Erica’s lecture topics include “The Art of Self- Re-invention,” “Journaling: the Write Way to Write Fiction,” “Solving the Mystery of Mystery Writing,” and “Opera Meets Hollywood.” Details about Erica’s novels, screenplays and lectures can be found on her website, https://www.ericaminer.com.
LEARN MORE ABOUT Erica Miner
First Show:
GYPSYFavorite Show:
Onward VictoriaFavorite Stories:
- Lawrence Brownlee Speaks as he Sings: Gloriously - African American tenor Brownlee is opera royalty, a representative of diversity in his field and at the top of his game. Interviewing him was sheer pleasure, as he could not have been more affable, accessible, and articulate.
- MET OPERA CONCERTMASTER RAYMOND GNIEWEK: A REMEMBRANCE at Metropolitan Opera House - Ray Gniewek was also opera royalty, one of the greatest concertmasters of all time, and a key influence on my life as a violinist with the Met Opera. His immense contribution to the opera world cannot be quantified. I remain in awe of him.
- BWW Previews: THE (R)EVOLUTION OF STEVE JOBS - The brilliant operatic rendering of the life of this ultra-important person, whose work has had an enormous influence on all of our lives, has been hugely successful since its premiere. The composer and librettist captured the essence of Jobs: his life, his trials, and his journey, so perfectly.
- BWW Interview: Jamie Bernstein Celebrates Remarkable Centennial - Jamie Bernstein has been a friend and colleague ever since we were at the Tanglewood Music Center decades ago, when I was a Fellowship student working with her famous father, whom we all called Lenny. She is keenly intelligent, savvy, and a joy to interview.
- Interview: David Holloway Shepherds Santa Fe Apprentices - David is another former opera colleague whose friendship goes back decades, ever since we were neighbors in Manhattan and our children played together and we worked together at the met Opera. More recently, he provided me entree into the Santa Fe Opera, where I based my most recent Opera Mystery novel, Prelude to Murder. His insights into the workings of this unique opera company were fascinating.
BWW Feature: MET OPERA CONCERTMASTER RAYMOND GNIEWEK: A REMEMBRANCE at Metropolitan Opera House
October 8, 2021
October 8, 2021
The loss of a much loved, respected musical icon, no matter at what age, is always a sad event.
BWW Interview: Eric Owens of DIE WALKÜRE at Fisher Pavilion
July 18, 2021
July 18, 2021
The first live post-pandemic opening for the company.
BWW Interview: Michael Chioldi of TOSCA at St. Paul's Cathedral
June 11, 2021
June 11, 2021
The New York City-based award-winning baritone and Pittsburgh, PA, native specializes in dramatic roles of Verdi, Puccini, and Strauss
BWW Interview: Vanessa Goikoetxea of DON GIOVANNI at McCaw Hall
March 15, 2021
March 15, 2021
Her Mozart is lyrical, lush, secure and dynamic, with a forceful top range and fluid technique that makes her vocality perfect for a role such as Donna Anna, which has challenged sopranos over the past two centuries. Yet soprano Vanessa Goikoetxea showed her versatility when she won immense kudos for her 2019 Seattle Opera debut in a much gentler role, that of Micaëla in Bizet's Carmen.
BWW Interview: Beth Morrison of "The PROTOTYPE FESTIVAL Opera-Theatre-NOW"
February 4, 2021
February 4, 2021
One of the world’s foremost, most adventurous, female producers of contemporary opera, and a tireless champion of diverse voices, Beth Morrison unequivocally embraces her seemingly limitless drive.
HAMMERKLAVIER LIVE at Aldilà Records
January 2, 2021
January 2, 2021
A dauntless performer of the most demanding piano repertoire, be it Romantic or contemporary
BWW Review: AMICI E RIVALI at CD Review
November 13, 2020
November 13, 2020
the two tenors take on the roles of sparring tenors who clearly get along musically and, by all accounts, personally as well
BWW Interview: THE ELIXIR OF LOVE at McCaw Hall
November 2, 2020
November 2, 2020
Available to season ticket holders from November 13–December 4, 2020 , Recorded on the McCaw Hall stage
BWW CD Review: AMERICAN COMPOSERS AT PLAY
October 27, 2020
October 27, 2020
Releasing a CD of vocal works entirely made up of 20th and 21st century composers is a brave and bold effort on his part.
BWW Interview: Richard Stilwell of THE ASPERN PAPERS at Dallas Opera
August 14, 2020
August 14, 2020
A lot of repertoire you do over and over, while finding new things within those pieces, but something totally new is interesting
BWW Interview: Richard Stilwell of PELLEAS ET MELISANDE at New York City Opera
August 14, 2020
August 14, 2020
the exquisite voice, dramatic stage presence and winning personality of this Grammy-nominated artist have garnered kudos throughout the opera world
BWW Review: “SONGS OF SUMMER” WITH SHELLY TRAVERSE at McCaw Hall
July 15, 2020
July 15, 2020
Seattle Opera's innovative 'Songs of Summer' recital series has been bringing some of the company's most valued singers to an electronic stage
BWW Previews: THE (R)EVOLUTION OF STEVE JOBS at KING FM
May 27, 2020
May 27, 2020
Self-sheltering? Missing opera? No problem. Seattle Opera has paired with local classical radio station KING FM 98.1 to bring listeners their Saturday morning opera fix
BWW Exclusive Interview: Mardi-Ellen Hill and The Universe of MEND™
May 11, 2020
May 11, 2020
a?oeA star is killed at the height of her career. Her theme song holds clues to her murder and the secrets that have followed a dynasty for agesa??a??
BWW Interview: Brian Jagde of MADAME BUTTERFLY at Lyric Opera of Chicago
February 10, 2020
February 10, 2020
The first thing to know about Brian Jagde is that his name is pronounced a?oeJade,a?? like the jewel
BWW Interview: Ari Pelto of San Diego's HANSEL AND GRETEL at the Civic Center
January 16, 2020
January 16, 2020
Pelto will make his much-anticipated San Diego Opera debut on Feb. 8, 2020, in their highly imaginative production
BWW Interview: Marina Costa-Jackson of EUGENE ONEGIN at McCaw Hall
December 13, 2019
December 13, 2019
Marina Costa-Jackson was born to sing. She will demonstrate that in her role debut as Tatyana in Seattle Opera's upcoming production of Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin. The casting is appropriate, as she has performed in Russia with her sisters, as well as with the late Russian superstar baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky.
BWW Interview: Ginger Costa-Jackson, Part 2: Mopping, Not Moping
October 3, 2019
October 3, 2019
Since I was last here I've had 3 jobs one right after the other, 1 red eye flight to get to the next rehearsal
BWW Interview: Ginger Costa-Jackson of CINDERELLA at McCaw Hall
October 4, 2019
October 4, 2019
Rhyming a?oeGingera?? with a??Singera?? may be a stretch, but in Ginger Costa-Jackson's case, it might well be appropriate.
BWW Review: LA JOLLA SUMMERFEST Explores Love and Loss at Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center
August 24, 2019
August 24, 2019
The La Jolla Music Society's Summerfest presented their penultimate program of their first season at the brand-new Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center
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