Julia Faulkner, Associate Professor of Voice, is a native of Wisconsin. She first gained national attention as a winner of the 1985 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. She made her European stage debut shortly thereafter as Arminda in Mozart's La finta giardiniera in Lyon, France, and returned the following season to sing Alice in Verdi's Falstaff under the baton of John Eliot Gardiner. She was then invited to join the ensemble of the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, appearing in productions of Le Nozze di Figaro, Die Zauberflote, Strauss's Capriccio and Ferrari's Le Donne Curiose. Between 1991 and 1997, Ms. Faulkner was in residence at the Vienna State Opera, gaining recognition there as a Strauss and Mozart singer of the very first rank. She opened the 1992 and 1993 seasons at the Hamburg State Opera and appeared in a production of Cosi fan tutte in Stockholm, Genoa, Bordeaux, and Miami. Her Netherlands Opera debut followed, as Rosalinda in Die Fledermaus.

Ms. Faulkner returned to America in 1994 to make her Metropolitan Opera debut in the title role of Strauss's Arabella. She has remained on the Met roster since 1997, and participated in the company's tour of Der Rosenkavalier to Japan in 2001 and in a new production of Die Frau Ohne Schatten in 2002. She has performed with the Berlin Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Concertgebouw, San Francisco Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, and Dresdener Staatskapelle, and has recordings on the Deutsche Grammophon, EMI, Phillips, and Naxos labels.

Julia Faulkner was appointed Assistant Professor of Voice in fall 2005. She holds both bachelor's and master's degrees in voice performance from Indiana University, and has maintained a private voice studio throughout her career. Her students have won numerous awards and sing worldwide on opera, concert, and musical theater stages. Since the summer of 2004 she has taught voice in the Young Artist programs La Musica Lirica in Italy and the Tyrolean Opera Program in Austria.