Having trotted the globe, international Coloratura Soprano, Christina Johnston, moved back to Felixstowe last year. Suffolk born and bred despite her young age, Christina, has addressed audiences all over the U.K., Europe, Asia and South America but she’s always her roots to be in Suffolk.
Originally from Framlingham, Christina grew up with Ed Sheeran and gained her scholarship at a tender age of 17 at The Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She moved to Prague to become a “Young Artist” at the Opera House and made her operatic debut in 2014 at The State Opera, Prague as Queen of the Nightin Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte and Adelein Strauss’s Die Fledermaus.
Since then she has performed all over Europe and in Russia as Olympia from Offenbach’s Les Contes D’Hoffmann, stared as Zerlina in Mozart’s Don Giovanni and Katerina Cavellieriin Amadeus with The Prague Shakespeare Company.
She has sung for Heads of State, most notably regularly singing for President of the Czech Republic, President of the People’s Republic of China and various Presidents of EU Countries. She was personally chosen by President of the People’s Republic of China to sing in China for the end of World War II celebrations which was broadcast all over China. She was chosen by the Ambassador of Israel to sing in Hebrew for the Day of Jerusalem which was broadcast to the Mayor of Jerusalem.
Christina has sung for film scores including, “Interlude in Prague” and Korean Film “Battleship Island” and sung in Film festival’s for composers including, Joe Hisaishi, JamesHorner, Patrick Doyle, Craig Armstrong, Elliot Goldenthal and Michael Giacchino.
She released her debut CD “Blessing” with The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, and her Christmas EP with Matthew Sheeran (Ed’s brother), was nominated for a 2018 Classic Brit Award and last yearJosé Carreraschose her to join him on his Farewell Tour. She was chosen to be the voice and Ambassador of Purple Poppy Appeal, celebrating the animals of the war. The single, A Million Tears, has been backed by Her Majesty the Queen and 52 Commonwealth countries, and will be released this year.
Christina was meant to have her busiest year to date and set to be singing with London Mozart Players in the Last Night of the Proms and making her debut at Snape Maltings in Carmina Burana. However, as with so many artists, coronavirus hit her career hard in March and she lost all her work for the foreseeable future. Despite this set back Christina decided to use the studio in Old Felixstowe to set up a mini concert hall and go online. Every Friday at 7pm, Christina and her husband, (also her manager) Slava, do online streaming concerts from their studio. They set up a GoFundMe page and through kind donations were able to invest in equipment needed to go online every week.
“It has been a huge learning curve and something I have enjoyed adapting to. I have found it is far more relaxed and I can interact with the audience watching. We have ha d views from all over the world, from Japan, America to Brazil, Europe and even Uganda and South Africa! I have been overwhelmed with the support and kindness people have shown. It is a lot of hard work each week to do a different concert but I think the a udience really enjoy the interaction as usually on stage I don’t speak with the audience.”
If you would like to watch Christina Johnston Live Friday Night Concerts, they are on Facebook live and Youtube every Friday at 7pm.
Tonight is “Song from Broadway”
https://www.youtube.com/user/TheChristinaJohnston
https://www.facebook.com/TheChristinaJohnston
You can always watch them back too.
