Taos Opera Institute
An integrated and intensive training program, focused on improving your total wellness, technique and artistry.
Directors Mary Jane Johnson and Linda Poetschke
Taos Opera Institute was founded in 2007 by Mary Jane Johnson and Linda Poetschke as a program designed to bridge the gap between academia and apprenticeships for the aspiring vocal artist
Mary Jane Johnson
Soprano
Co-founder, Artistic Director
Master Teacher - Italian
Linda Poetschke
Soprano
Co-founder, Program Director
Master Teacher - French
Ms Johnson is counted amongst the great dramatic sopranos, and is considered one of opera's premiere interpreters. Her most celebrated roles include Minnie, Salome, Turandot, Tosca, Emilia Marty from The Makropoulos Case, Katarina Ismailova from Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, Senta in Der fliegender Holländer and Electra. In these roles alone she made appearances on five continents with the world’s most renowned opera companies including The Metropolitan Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Opera Bastille, Teatro Colon, Teatro Municipal de Santiago, Teatro San Paulo, San Francisco Opera, Netherlands Opera, Washington National Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera, Montreal Opera, Vancouver Opera, and Santa Fe Opera.
Her debut in The Makropoulos Case with the Prague Opera House and the Prague Festival was a historic one, as it marked the first time a non-Czech artist had ever performed a Czech Opera in the National Theatre. Ms. Johnson's career skyrocketed to the next level when she appeared with Luciano Pavarotti in a televised performance as Musetta in Puccini's La Bohéme with the Opera Company of Philadelphia. Other important highlights of Ms. Johnson's television appearances include the nationally televised Pavarotti Plus Gala, Live from Lincoln Center and CBS "Sunday Morning.”
Ms. Johnson has been equally successful on the recital stage including performances of Fidelio with Maestro Lorin Maazel and the Pittsburgh Symphony, both in Pittsburgh and at Carnegie Hall and Freia in Das Rheingold with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Sir George Solti. Other distinguished orchestral appearances include concerts in Naples with the RAI Orchestra, and with the San Francisco Symphony.
While still active on the concert stage, her primary focus is now to share her extensive knowledge and experience of opera. A native of Pampa, TX, Ms. Johnson is presently the Artist Professor at Amarillo College since 2000. In addition to leading master classes across the U.S., she also co-founded the Taos Opera Institute (TOI) where she serves as Artistic Director. In its seventh year TOI is an intensive summer program that fosters young operatic talent.
Soprano Linda Poetschke’s career has spanned over 40 years and she has enjoyed numerous appearances with symphony orchestras and regional opera companies across the Southwest. Opera roles include: Norina (DON PASQUALE), Musetta (LA BOHEME), Despina (COSI FAN TUTTI), Marie (DAUGHTER OF THE REGIMENT), Madame Silverklang (IMPRESARIO), Violetta (LA TRAVIATA), and Pamina (THE MAGIC FLUTE).
As featured soloist, Ms. Poetschke has performed nationally with the New Mexico Symphony, the Charlotte (NC) Symphony, and the Western Michigan Symphony. She has also performed as soprano soloist with the New York West End Chamber Orchestra in a Carnegie Hall appearance of REQUIEM by W.A. Mozart. Regionally, she has performed as soloist with the major symphony orchestras in her home state of Texas (Ft. Worth, Austin, Mid-Texas, Laredo, East Texas, Sherman, Corpus Christi, Brazos symphonies), as well as the Dallas Symphony Orchestra's Christmas POPS at the Meyerson and numerous appearances with the San Antonio Symphony.
Linda has appeared as soloist for the national conventions of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) in San Antonio and San Diego and also the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS). She has also been a presenter and adjudicator for the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) national conference. She frequently performed as a recitalist on university campuses and has also performed sacred recitals and concerts in Czech Republic, Switzerland, Germany, London, and Paris.
Ms. Poetschke is an active participant in the musical community of San Antonio as a member of the Tuesday Musical Club and also as a past recipient of the San Antonio Women’s Hall of Fame Award in Creative Arts. She has also been the subject of a featured article in San Antonio Woman magazine. Linda was the first recipient of the George Cortez Award for Classical Singing presented by the San Antonio Arts Foundation.
Linda is the Co-Founder and Program Director, as well as teacher for the Taos Opera Institute in Taos, New Mexico [www.taosoi.org] celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2017. She has taught in the Czech Republic and at the American Institute of Musical Studies (AIMS) in Graz, Austria. Her students have performed at prestigious summer programs such as Santa Fe Opera, Merola (San Francisco Opera), Opera North, American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria, Des Moines Opera, Cincinnati Opera, and Taos Opera Institute. Former students have performed at the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, Chicago Lyric Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Pittsburg Opera, and San Francisco Opera as well as in international opera houses.
Ms. Poetschke holds Vocal Performance degrees from the University of North Texas at Denton, and the University of Texas at Austin. For the past 33 years, Linda has been a member of the music faculty as Professor of Voice at the University of Texas at San Antonio. An endowed vocal scholarship in Linda Poetschke’s name has been established at UT-San Antonio in the Department of Music where she served as Coordinator of the Vocal Area from 1989 to 2011. Upon her retirement from UTSA in May 2016, Linda was awarded the title of Professor Emeritus.