TELLINGTON TTOUCH Instructor FOR COMPANION ANIMALS
EUGENIE CHOPIN is an American Soprano who has lived in South Africa for over forty years. She graduated with honours from Louisiana State University in 1970 with a Masters Degree in Music, specializing in Applied Voice.

She started her career as an apprentice with Santa Fe Opera after winning several singing competitions, including the prestigious Metropolitan Opera Auditions in 1969. While at Santa Fe, she met the late and great Audrey Langford, with whom she studied for over 25 years. Each year Eugenie would fly through London and study her repertoire for the year with Audrey and then coach the roles with Robin Stapleton at Covent Garden. Today, she loves sharing what she has learned over the years!

Her career has spanned the USA, Germany and South Africa. Some favourite roles include the leading role in operas/operetta Butterfly, La Traviata, Rigoletto, The Marriage of Figaro (4 roles and 4 languages), Tales of Hoffman (all 4 roles), La Boheme ( Musetta & Mimi), Lohengrin, Turandot (Liu), Faust, Othello, Don Giovanni (All 3 ladies over the years), The Bartered Bride, The Merry Widow (Hanna & Valencienne), Die Fledermaus (Adele & Rosalinda), The Great Waltz, Zigeunerbaron, Carmen & Turn of the Screw. As a graduate student, she starred in the World Premiere of Elie Sigmeister’s “The Plough and the Stars”.

Some highlights were singing with Placido Domingo, Jerome Hines and Justino Diaz.

Eugenie has sung in many Musicals including such greats as West Side Story and Guys and Dolls, as well as appearing in numerous television shows. She adjudicates regularly for the Johannesburg Music Festival. She has also adjudicated at the UNISA International Singing prelims, SAMRO international competition, Senior adjudicator for the Pretoria Tech voice final, Yamaha/Lovemore competition & many others.

She has won 3 Nederburg Opera Awards before retiring to teach, which she now does in Johannesburg. The awards were for the roles of Marenka in Bartered Bride, Desdemona in Othello & Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni.

Teaching experience includes her private studio for most of her singing career. She started by filling in at the Opera School in Pretoria in 1976 and has continued up to today. It includes teaching students at both Pretoria University and Wits, where she is currently teaching part-time.

The Chopin Studio holds Bi-Annual Soirees in Sandton where Eugenie’s students perform. Students include beginners to professionals; musical theatre to opera.