Christiane Noll
Encyclopedia
Christiane Noll is an American singer and actress known for her work in musicals
and on the concert stage. She is perhaps best known for originating the role of Emma Carew in Frank Wildhorn
's Jekyll & Hyde
, as well as her roles in Urinetown and City of Angels.
, where she attended Leonia High School
. She is the daughter of conductor and Emmy Award
-winning Music Supervisor for CBS
, the late Ron Noll (1929–2008), and soprano
Sara-Ann Noll. She graduated from Carnegie Mellon University
. In 2006, Noll married actor Jamie LaVerdiere, who appeared in the Broadway production of the musical The Pirate Queen
in 2007. The couple's first child, a girl, was born in February 2009. Noll has established the Charlotte Black Memorial Fund as an endowed award at Carnegie Mellon University.
as Mother in the revival of Ragtime
at the Neil Simon Theatre
. Additionally, she created the role of Emma in the Broadway production of Jekyll & Hyde
in 1997 after playing the role in out-of-town tryouts. She also appeared on Broadway in the revue
, It Ain't Nothin' but the Blues (1999). Noll earned good notices for her performances as Kathie in The Student Prince
in 2000 at the Paper Mill Playhouse
and Marianne in City Center Encores! The New Moon
(2003). Noll received an Ovation Award for her role as Hope Cladwell in the National Tour of Urinetown
(2004). She also created the roles of Vanna Vane in The Mambo Kings
musical (2005), Jane Smart in the American premier of The Witches of Eastwick
at the Signature Theatre in Arlington, Virginia (2007), Elizabeth Lavenza in the rock musical
Frankenstein - A New Musical
(2007 off-Broadway, 37 Arts) and Jordan in The Piper at the NY Music Theatre Festival (2007). Noll appeared as Ruth in 2008 in Ace
at the Signature Theatre in Arlington.
Noll has starred in the national tours of Grease
, as Sandy, Miss Saigon
, as Ellen, and City of Angels
, as Mallory/Avril, as well as a tour of Australia and Thailand as Nellie in South Pacific
. She performed with Plácido Domingo
in the Washington National Opera
's The Merry Widow
as Valencienne at The Kennedy Center (2005). Other stage credits include Mabel in Mack & Mabel
(for which she won a 2004 Connecticut Critics Circle Award), Genvieve in The Baker's Wife
(2002), Lizzie in Lizzie Borden (2001 at Goodspeed Opera House), The Baker's Wife in Into the Woods
(2005), Carrie in Carousel
, Laura in A Fine & Private Place, (2006 off-Broadway York Theater), and Mabel in Eugene Opera's The Pirates of Penzance
(2006). Regional theatre productions include Oliver!, All Night Strut, Cinderella, Annie, 42nd Street, My Fair Lady, Sweeney Todd, and Little Shop of Horrors (American Music Theatre of San Jose (2008)). She played Mother in Ragtime at the Kennedy Center (2009) and in the most recent Broadway revival, for which she was nominated for a Tony Award
for Best Performance by an Actress in a Musical.
Noll is heard on concept albums for a new musical, The New Picasso, which was released in January 2008, and Dracula, released in 2006
, The Cincinnati Pops, The Jerusalem Symphony, The Philadelphia Pops and Peter Nero
, and has sung with The Cleveland Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony, the Alabama Symphony Orchestra
, The Harrisburg Symphony, The San Francisco Symphony
, and the Sinfonica Brasileira in Rio de Janeiro
, Brazil
. She made her Carnegie Hall
debut with Skitch Henderson
, in his last New York Pops performance, as part of 3 Broadway Divas.
Noll also performs a solo cabaret show and has been a featured member of the Broadway Inspirational Voices Gospel Choir.
Noll has released four solo CD’s, Christiane Noll - A Broadway Love Story (1998), The Ira Gershwin Album (2001), Live at the Westbank Café (2003) and "Christiane Noll - My Personal Property" (2008). She supplied the singing-voice of Anna in the Warner Bros.
animated feature The King and I
(1999). Some of her numerous recordings are Jekyll & Hyde (1997), The King & I (1999, Sony Classics), Little by Little (1999), A Christmas Survival Guide (2000), What's a Nice Girl Like You..., Z: The Masked Musical (2000), Bravo Broadway 2, The Three Broadway Divas (with two fellow Divas - Jan Horvath
and Debbie Gravitte), Far from the Madding Crowd (2000), The New Moon (2003), Neo: A Celebration of Emerging Talent in Musical Theatre, Benefiting the York Theatre Company (2005), and albums of the music of Stephen Sondheim
, Burt Bacharach
, Paul Simon
, Scott Alan and Stephen Schwartz
, among others.
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
and on the concert stage. She is perhaps best known for originating the role of Emma Carew in Frank Wildhorn
Frank Wildhorn
Frank Wildhorn is an American composer known for both his musicals and popular songs. He is most known for his musical Jekyll & Hyde, which ran four years on Broadway, and for writing the #1 International Hit song "Where Do Broken Hearts Go?" for Whitney Houston.-Early years:Wildhorn was born in...
's Jekyll & Hyde
Jekyll & Hyde (musical)
Jekyll & Hyde is a musical based on the novella Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. The original stage conception was by Steve Cuden and Frank Wildhorn. The music is by Wildhorn and the lyrics and book are by Leslie Bricusse.The musical ran on Broadway for 1,543...
, as well as her roles in Urinetown and City of Angels.
Life and career
Noll was born in New York City and raised in Leonia, New JerseyLeonia, New Jersey
Leonia is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 8,937. It is located near the western approach to the George Washington Bridge....
, where she attended Leonia High School
Leonia High School
Leonia High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grade from the Borough of Leonia in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Leonia Public Schools...
. She is the daughter of conductor and Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
-winning Music Supervisor for CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, the late Ron Noll (1929–2008), and soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
Sara-Ann Noll. She graduated from Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
. In 2006, Noll married actor Jamie LaVerdiere, who appeared in the Broadway production of the musical The Pirate Queen
The Pirate Queen
The Pirate Queen is a musical written by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, best known for their adaptation of Les Misérables. John Dempsey is the co-lyricist. The Pirate Queen marks the first time Boublil and Schönberg have created a musical with American collaborators...
in 2007. The couple's first child, a girl, was born in February 2009. Noll has established the Charlotte Black Memorial Fund as an endowed award at Carnegie Mellon University.
Stage work
Noll was most recently seen on BroadwayBroadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
as Mother in the revival of Ragtime
Ragtime (musical)
Ragtime is a musical with a book by Terrence McNally, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, and music by Stephen Flaherty.Based on the 1975 novel by E. L. Doctorow, Ragtime tells the story of three groups in America, represented by Coalhouse Walker Jr., a Harlem musician; Mother, the matriarch of a WASP family in...
at the Neil Simon Theatre
Neil Simon Theatre
The Neil Simon Theatre, formerly the Alvin Theatre, is a Broadway venue built in 1927 and located at 250 West 52nd Street in midtown-Manhattan....
. Additionally, she created the role of Emma in the Broadway production of Jekyll & Hyde
Jekyll & Hyde (musical)
Jekyll & Hyde is a musical based on the novella Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. The original stage conception was by Steve Cuden and Frank Wildhorn. The music is by Wildhorn and the lyrics and book are by Leslie Bricusse.The musical ran on Broadway for 1,543...
in 1997 after playing the role in out-of-town tryouts. She also appeared on Broadway in the revue
Revue
A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century American popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from 1916 to 1932...
, It Ain't Nothin' but the Blues (1999). Noll earned good notices for her performances as Kathie in The Student Prince
The Student Prince
The Student Prince is an operetta in four acts with music by Sigmund Romberg and book and lyrics by Dorothy Donnelly. It is based on Wilhelm Meyer-Förster's play Alt Heidelberg. The piece has elements of melodrama but lacks the swashbuckling style common to Romberg's other works...
in 2000 at the Paper Mill Playhouse
Paper Mill Playhouse
Paper Mill Playhouse is a regional theatre with approximately 1200 seats, located in Millburn, New Jersey, less than 25 miles from Manhattan. Due to its location, it can draw from the pool of actors who live in New York City. Its location, as well as its focus on producing large-scale shows, makes...
and Marianne in City Center Encores! The New Moon
The New Moon
The New Moon is the name of an operetta with music by Sigmund Romberg and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, Frank Mandel, and Laurence Schwab. The show was the third and last in a string of Broadway hits for Romberg written in the style of Viennese operetta...
(2003). Noll received an Ovation Award for her role as Hope Cladwell in the National Tour of Urinetown
Urinetown
Urinetown: The Musical is a satirical comedy musical, with music by Mark Hollmann, lyrics by Hollmann and Greg Kotis, and book by Kotis. It satirizes the legal system, capitalism, social irresponsibility, populism, bureaucracy, corporate mismanagement, and municipal politics...
(2004). She also created the roles of Vanna Vane in The Mambo Kings
The Mambo Kings
The Mambo Kings is a 1992 drama film starring Armand Assante and Antonio Banderas. Directed by Arne Glimcher in his directorial debut, the film is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love by Oscar Hijuelos...
musical (2005), Jane Smart in the American premier of The Witches of Eastwick
The Witches of Eastwick (musical)
The Witches of Eastwick is a 2000 musical based on the novel of the same name by John Updike. It was adapted by John Dempsey and Dana P. Rowe , directed by Eric Schaeffer, and produced by Cameron Mackintosh....
at the Signature Theatre in Arlington, Virginia (2007), Elizabeth Lavenza in the rock musical
Rock musical
A rock musical is a musical theatre work with rock music. The genre of rock musical may overlap somewhat with album musicals, concept albums and song cycles, as they sometimes tell a story through the rock music, and some album musicals and concept albums become rock musicals...
Frankenstein - A New Musical
Frankenstein - A New Musical
Frankenstein — A New Musical is a musical with music by Mark Baron, lyrics by Jeffrey Jackson, and a book by Jackson and Gary P. Cohen, based on the Mary Shelley novel of the same name...
(2007 off-Broadway, 37 Arts) and Jordan in The Piper at the NY Music Theatre Festival (2007). Noll appeared as Ruth in 2008 in Ace
Ace (musical)
ACE is a musical with a book and lyrics by Robert Taylor and Richard Oberacker, and music by Oberacker. The story is about a boy, separated from his mother, who discovers his past and himself through a series of dreams about a flying ace...
at the Signature Theatre in Arlington.
Noll has starred in the national tours of Grease
Grease (musical)
Grease is a 1971 musical by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. The musical is named for the 1950s United States working-class youth subculture known as the greasers. The musical, set in 1959 at fictional Rydell High School , follows ten working-class teenagers as they navigate the complexities of love,...
, as Sandy, Miss Saigon
Miss Saigon
Miss Saigon is a musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby, Jr.. It is based on Giacomo Puccini's opera Madame Butterfly, and similarly tells the tragic tale of a doomed romance involving an Asian woman abandoned by her American lover...
, as Ellen, and City of Angels
City of Angels (musical)
City of Angels is a musical comedy with music by Cy Coleman, lyrics by David Zippel, and book by Larry Gelbart. The musical weaves together two plots, the "real" world of a writer trying to turn his book into a screenplay, and the "reel" world of the fictional film.-Productions:City of Angels...
, as Mallory/Avril, as well as a tour of Australia and Thailand as Nellie in South Pacific
South Pacific (musical)
South Pacific is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and book by Hammerstein and Joshua Logan. The story draws from James A. Michener's Pulitzer Prize-winning 1947 book Tales of the South Pacific, weaving together characters and elements from several of its...
. She performed with Plácido Domingo
Plácido Domingo
Plácido Domingo KBE , born José Plácido Domingo Embil, is a Spanish tenor and conductor known for his versatile and strong voice, possessing a ringing and dramatic tone throughout its range...
in the Washington National Opera
Washington National Opera
The Washington National Opera is an opera company in Washington, D.C., USA. Formerly the Opera Society of Washington and the Washington Opera, the company received Congressional designation as the National Opera Company in 2000. Performances are now given in the Opera House of the John F...
's The Merry Widow
The Merry Widow
The Merry Widow is an operetta by the Austro–Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein, based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's attempt to keep her money in the principality by finding her the right husband – on an 1861 comedy play,...
as Valencienne at The Kennedy Center (2005). Other stage credits include Mabel in Mack & Mabel
Mack & Mabel
Mack & Mabel is a musical with a book by Michael Stewart and music and lyrics by Jerry Herman. The plot involves the tumultuous romantic relationship between Hollywood director Mack Sennett and Mabel Normand , who became one of his biggest stars...
(for which she won a 2004 Connecticut Critics Circle Award), Genvieve in The Baker's Wife
The Baker's Wife
The Baker's Wife is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and the book by Joseph Stein, based on the French film La Femme du Boulanger by Marcel Pagnol and Jean Giono...
(2002), Lizzie in Lizzie Borden (2001 at Goodspeed Opera House), The Baker's Wife in Into the Woods
Into the Woods
Into the Woods is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. It debuted in San Diego at the Old Globe Theatre in 1986, and premiered on Broadway in 1987. Bernadette Peters' performance as the Witch and Joanna Gleason's portrayal of the Baker's Wife brought acclaim...
(2005), Carrie in Carousel
Carousel (musical)
Carousel is the second stage musical by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II . The work premiered in 1945 and was adapted from Ferenc Molnár's 1909 play Liliom, transplanting its Budapest setting to the Maine coastline...
, Laura in A Fine & Private Place, (2006 off-Broadway York Theater), and Mabel in Eugene Opera's The Pirates of Penzance
The Pirates of Penzance
The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. The opera's official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 31 December 1879, where the show was well received by both audiences...
(2006). Regional theatre productions include Oliver!, All Night Strut, Cinderella, Annie, 42nd Street, My Fair Lady, Sweeney Todd, and Little Shop of Horrors (American Music Theatre of San Jose (2008)). She played Mother in Ragtime at the Kennedy Center (2009) and in the most recent Broadway revival, for which she was nominated for a Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
for Best Performance by an Actress in a Musical.
Noll is heard on concept albums for a new musical, The New Picasso, which was released in January 2008, and Dracula, released in 2006
Concert, cabaret and recording work
Noll frequently performs Broadway favorites in concert and has been a guest soloist as part of Bravo Broadway with the National Symphony and Marvin HamlischMarvin Hamlisch
Marvin Frederick Hamlisch is an American composer. He is one of only thirteen people to have been awarded Emmys, Grammys, Oscars, and a Tony . He is also one of only two people to EGOT and also win a Pulitzer Prize...
, The Cincinnati Pops, The Jerusalem Symphony, The Philadelphia Pops and Peter Nero
Peter Nero
Peter Nero is an American pianist and pops conductor.-Early life:Born in Brooklyn, New York, As Bernard Nierow, Nero started his formal music training at the age of seven. He studied piano under Frederick Bried...
, and has sung with The Cleveland Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony, the Alabama Symphony Orchestra
Alabama Symphony Orchestra
- 1921-1955: Beginnings :The Alabama Symphony Orchestra can trace its beginnings to 1921, when on Friday, April 29, fifty-two volunteer musicians joined to perform at the Birmingham Music Festival at the Old Jefferson Theater...
, The Harrisburg Symphony, The San Francisco Symphony
San Francisco Symphony
The San Francisco Symphony is an orchestra based in San Francisco, California. Since 1980, the orchestra has performed at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall. The San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra and the San Francisco Symphony Chorus are part of the organization...
, and the Sinfonica Brasileira in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. She made her Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
debut with Skitch Henderson
Skitch Henderson
Lyle Russell Cedric “Skitch” Henderson was a pianist, conductor, and composer. His nickname reportedly derived from his ability to quickly "re-sketch" a song in a different key.- Biography :...
, in his last New York Pops performance, as part of 3 Broadway Divas.
Noll also performs a solo cabaret show and has been a featured member of the Broadway Inspirational Voices Gospel Choir.
Noll has released four solo CD’s, Christiane Noll - A Broadway Love Story (1998), The Ira Gershwin Album (2001), Live at the Westbank Café (2003) and "Christiane Noll - My Personal Property" (2008). She supplied the singing-voice of Anna in the Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
animated feature The King and I
The King and I
The King and I is a stage musical, the fifth by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. The work is based on the 1944 novel Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon and derives from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, who became governess to the children of King Mongkut of Siam in...
(1999). Some of her numerous recordings are Jekyll & Hyde (1997), The King & I (1999, Sony Classics), Little by Little (1999), A Christmas Survival Guide (2000), What's a Nice Girl Like You..., Z: The Masked Musical (2000), Bravo Broadway 2, The Three Broadway Divas (with two fellow Divas - Jan Horvath
Jan Horvath
Jan Horvath is an American singer.She was a member of the original Broadway company of The Phantom of the Opera where she performed the roles of Christine and Carlotta. Other Broadway credits include The Threepenny Opera starring Sting, Sweet Charity starring Debbie Allen, Stardust and Oliver!...
and Debbie Gravitte), Far from the Madding Crowd (2000), The New Moon (2003), Neo: A Celebration of Emerging Talent in Musical Theatre, Benefiting the York Theatre Company (2005), and albums of the music of Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Laurence Olivier Award...
, Burt Bacharach
Burt Bacharach
Burt F. Bacharach is an American pianist, composer and music producer. He is known for his popular hit songs and compositions from the mid-1950s through the 1980s, with lyrics written by Hal David. Many of their hits were produced specifically for, and performed by, Dionne Warwick...
, Paul Simon
Paul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.Simon is best known for his success, beginning in 1965, as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote most of the pair's songs, including three that reached number one on the US singles...
, Scott Alan and Stephen Schwartz
Stephen Schwartz (composer)
Stephen Lawrence Schwartz is an American musical theatre lyricist and composer. In a career spanning over four decades, Schwartz has written such hit musicals as Godspell , Pippin and Wicked...
, among others.
Discography
- Jekyll & Hyde (1997)
- Christiane Noll - A Broadway Love Story (1998)
- The King and IThe King and IThe King and I is a stage musical, the fifth by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. The work is based on the 1944 novel Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon and derives from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, who became governess to the children of King Mongkut of Siam in...
(1999) - Little by Little (1999)
- A Christmas Survival Guide (2000)
- Far from the Madding Crowd (2000)
- Z: The Masked Musical (2000)
- The Ira Gershwin Album (2001)
- Live at the Westbank Café (2003)
- The New Moon (2003)
- Neo: A Celebration of Emerging Talent in Musical Theatre, Benefiting the York Theatre Company (2005)
- Christiane Noll - My Personal Property (2008)
- What I Wanna Be When I Grow Up by Scott Alan(2010) -- sings the song I Remember