Vita
The Lyric-coloratura Soprano Venicia Sandria Rasmussen was born in California, USA in a musical Sicilian and Danish Family. Her vibrant upbringing and vast classical innovative education, was nurtured in preserving, the world of aesthetics, music, history, the arts, philanthropy, languages, and culture.
She began playing piano audio deductible at age four, after memorizing her sister playing Mozart and the organ tones of Bach at her church. Venicia´s passion for music, awakened within her first lessons of Violin, at age of 7, with a Russian/Armenian Professor and Inventor Gregory Shir. With 11 years, she performed a solo and duo program of „Concertos“ from Vivaldi and Paganini and partook in Regional Competitions, throughout Los Angeles. At the age of 15, her natural singing voice flourished, while performing internationally as a Soprano-soloist and choir-singer, with the uprising Chamber Ensemble and Girls’ Choir of San Marino, CA Middle School under the baton of Director Howard Cheung. Venicia performed in Basilica di San Pietro in Vaticano (Rome), in Basilica di San Marco (Venezia) on Easter, and the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore (Florence) in 2000.
With age sixteen, Venicia started professional voice lessons, at the prominent Los Angeles High school of the Arts. She sang her first full-staged Opera “Die Fledermaus” in the Full Circle Opera Program with director Stephanie Vlahos and portrayed roles such as; Contessa in “Le Nozze de Figaro“ from Mozart (2006), Mrs. Maurant in “Street Scenes” from Kurt Weil (2007), and the 1 Dame in Mozarts „Le Nozze de Figaro“. She received the scholarship award „Excellence in Vocal music“ from Los Angeles Georgia Frontier and the musical concert award „Most Musical Singer“ in 2007, and sang opera arias at the Symphony Concert with the LA. County High School of the Arts Orchestra, with conductor Dr. Dan Castro.
In 2010, Venicia moved to Germany to pursue her Opera career and received her Bachelor of Music in Opera/Vocal Performance Degree, and her second Bachelor degree of Vocal Pedagogy and Chamber Music, with magna cum laude at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik in Karlsruhe (Conservatory for Music in Karlsruhe) in 2013. Venicia received her Master’s degree in Opera with honors at the Karlsruhe Conservatory for Music with Professor Christiane Libor and Christa Lehnert in 2016. While studying, she was a scholar and performer of the Organization Yehudi Menuhin´s Stiftung „Live music Now“ and sang Baroque music with her Chamber trio (Soprano, Trumpet, Cembalo) throughout France and Germany. She was also a scholar of Richard Wagner Verband Pforzheim Baden Baden, Heinrich Hertz Stiftung and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) In Winter 2015/2016, she debuted the main role of Poppea from Monteverdi´s “L´incornazione di Poppea” with conductor Howard Arman, at the Karlsruhe Conservatory for Music. Venicia has also performed the roles of Susanna in Mozart´s “Le Nozze de Figaro” (2014), the Cat in the children’s Opera of “The Puss in Boots” (Der Gestiefelte Kater) 2012 in Karlsruhe, the Taumann and Sandmann in “Hänsel and Gretel” (2011) from Humperdinck, and the role of Amour in “Orpheus und Euridike” from Gluck (2010) in Karlsruhe Conservatory. Venicia is also an avid Crossover Pop-soprano at events like “International Oldtimers Show” with Rolls Royce in Baden Baden from 2014-2017.
Venicia had the recent honor to peform at the famous Wagner Festival Nibelungen Festspiele in Worms, Germany 2017, as the first singer on the acting stage. She performed the acting/singing role of Brünnhilde/Walküre in „Glut“ written by Albert Ostermeier, with the Director: Nuran David Calis, Musical Director: Mr. Harald Braun and Composers: Vivan und Ketan Bhatti.
The Wörmser Newspaper described her as a „Superwoman, full of light and positive energy.“ (translated) She was a recent soloist at the newly opened Elbphilarmonie in Hamburg and also sang at the International Opern-Air Concert in Bensheim, Germany. At the moment she is on a musical tour as a crossover singer/actress on Meinschiff 1, performing throughout Asia and the Orient, 2017/2018.
Venicia is truly grateful to have studied with such wonderful Mentors such as renown Mezzo-Soprano Prof. Milena Kitic and her famous teacher Kammersängerin Biserka Cvejic. She has had private coachings with prominent Singers such as: Kammersängerin Christa Lehnert, Stephanie Vlahos, Kammersängerin Julia Varady, Christiane Libor, Dubravka Zubovic, Dr. Mark Goodrich, Ines Salazar, Amelia Felle and Stephanie Spruill. (Full List is under Repertoire list)