Heidi Grant Murphy distinguished herself as a strong and promising new American singer in the early '90s. She began studying voice at Western Washington University, and continued at the Indiana University School of Music in Bloomington, IN, as a graduate student. While pursuing those studies, she entered the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. When she was named a winner, she left Bloomington to enter the Metropolitan Opera's Young Artist Development Program. She made her Metropolitan Opera debut in 1989 in
Richard Strauss' Die Frau ohne Schatten. Since then, she has appeared on the Met stage as Sophie in
Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier, Nanetta in
Verdi's Falstaff, Ilia in
Mozart's Idomeneo, Pamina in his Magic Flute, Susanna in his Marriage of Figaro, and Sister Constance in
Poulenc's Dialogues of the Carmelites. She frequently sings at the Salzburg Festival.
Besides the Met, she has appeared with the
Frankfurt Opera, Netherlands Opera,
Santa Fe Opera, with Theatre Royale de la Monnaie, and with major American symphony orchestras. She sang the soprano role in the world premiere of
David Del Tredici's The Spider and the Fly with
Kurt Masur and the
New York Philharmonic and in
Saariaho's Chateau de l'ame with
Kent Nagano and the
Hallé Orchestra. She is a frequent recitalist and recording artist. She appeared on recordings on several labels, including Deutsche Grammophon (Marriage of Figaro, Parsifal) and on Telarc (
Mahler's Symphony No. 8 and
Haydn's The Creation.) She became an exclusive recording artist for Arabesque Records, recording a recital disc (with her husband, Metropolitan Opera conductor Kevin Murphy) and a pair of
Bach wedding cantatas.