ABOUT 

Born in New York City, Dramatic Soprano Celeste Siciliano has been heard in concert, on the opera stage and in Temples and Jewish Festivals throughout the world. Her Jewish roots are in Brooklyn, NY and although she never met her, Celeste’s great-grandmother, Dinah Cohen was a coloratura soprano who was known as ‘the Jewish Galli-Curci of Brooklyn’.

 

Raised in an intensely musical family, Celeste studied piano, oboe and eventually discovered her voice at the age of 16. She went on to study at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia where she received a Bachelor’s of Music and then continued her studies at The University of Delaware, where she received a Master's Degree in Vocal Performance.  Across the pond, she studied voice and german language at Salzburg College and American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria.

 

Celeste earned a Certificate in Arts Administration from New York University and went on to produce independent projects involving educational theater. She founded a music school in New Hope, PA that had it’s own children’s theater club, Morning Star Players, in collaboration with private donors and area schools they produced several noteworthy projects, including Brundibár by Hans Krasa. The show featured children ages 5-16 on stage and playing in the orchestra with sets and costumes designed after the original production that was mounted in Theresienstadt in 1943. This and other productions toured as educational programs in schools in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.   

 

She has sung with Jewish choral groups and musical programs in the US and Australia including North Shore Temple Emanuel (Sydney, Australia), Temple Isaiah (Stony Brook, NY), Temple Israel (Tulsa, OK) and Temple Ansche Sholom (Olympia Fields, IL). She was a featured soloist at the Jewish Choral Festival at Sydney’s Conservatorium of Music and at the Union for Progressive Judaism’s Annual Convention in Melbourne.  Jewish Arts hosted a special event ‘A Night at the Opera’ featuring Celeste alongside her partner, Cantor Ted Labow at North Shore Temple Emanuel in Sydney.

She’s appeared on opera and concert stages in Germany, South Korea, Australia, and in the United States. Favorite roles and solos include Tosca, Norma, Madama Butterfly, Mimi in La Bohème, Amelia in Un Ballo in Maschera, Verdi Requiem and War Requiem of Benjamin Britten. 

You can learn more about Celeste at www.celestesiciliano.com 

 

Celeste served as cantorial soloist at Temple B’nai Sholom, Huntsville, Alabama in 2021. She sang as a member of the professional High Holy Day ensemble and as a featured soloist at Temple Beth Zion, Buffalo, NY in 2022. Recently she served as guest Cantorial Soloist and concert artist in from 'Bach to Broadway' at Agudas Israel Congregation, Hendersonville, NC. She is looking forward to her next opportunity to bring beautiful Jewish music to a congregation!