Bio
Ms. Koepke comes from a diverse performance background ranging from musical theater to stage plays to opera to cabaret. Ms. Koepke attended the University of New Mexico, where she earned a double Master’s degree in Vocal Performance and Child Psychology & Behavioral Studies. After receiving her degrees, she continued to study theatre, becoming a Shakespearian trained actress through the Addison program, a partner program of the Royal Shakespeare Academy. She has performed such classical roles as Katherine (Taming of the Shrew), Ophelia (Hamlet), Juliet (Romeo and Juliet) and Beatrice (Much Ado About Nothing). Her professional operatic career began in 1999 with the Santa Fe Opera, first as a young artist and later a Resident Artist. Her operatic performance credits include Gretel (Hänsel und Gretel), Liu (Turandot), Musetta (La bohème), La Contessa (Le nozze di Figaro), Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte) and Norma (Norma).
A full lyric soprano, she has performed such iconic musical theater roles as Maria (The Sound of Music), both Eponine and Fantine (Les Misérables), Guinevere (Camelot), Adelaide (Guys and Dolls) and The Baker’s Wife (Into the Woods). In 2001, Ms. Koepke won the prestigious Thespian Tribute award for her performance of Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady. In 2004 she received critical acclaim for her performance of the role of Claudia Draper in Tom Topor’s stage play, Nuts.
In 2005, Ms. Koepke began to focus her career in stage directing. Well-versed in multiple genres of theater, Ms. Koepke has directed productions such as The Cunning Little Vixen, Madama Butterfly, A Little Night Music, The Pirates of Penzance, Inherit the Wind, The Tempest and A Lion in Winter.
Ms. Koepke began working with Opera Colorado in 2007, where she serves as the Director of the Opera Colorado Artist in Residence Program and the Director of Education & Community Engagement. She creates the abridged scores for the company’s Touring Productions, translating the text and adapting the music as well as designing each production. She also serves as the lead dramatic coach and stage director for the program. She has directed Opera Colorado’s touring productions of Rossini’s Cinderella and The Barber of Seville, Gounod’s Romeo & Juliet, Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel, Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, Bizet’s Carmen and Donizetti’s The Elixir of Love.
She is the creator of the American Song program for Opera Colorado which is now in its sixth season.