Brenda Rae

Clare Erskine
“Ms Rae brought plush radiance and brilliant, agile singing to the showpiece ‘The Morning Lark.’”
(New York Times, April 2019)
Accaimed for her “tireless, golden soprano” (The Times), and “dazzling, pinpoint coloratura” (Opera News), Brenda Rae is a regular guest at the world’s leading opera houses in a portfolio of demanding principal roles.
Following two key debuts last season – at Teatro Real Madrid as Adina (L’elisir d’amore), and the Metropolitan Opera as Poppea (Agrippina) under Harry Bicket which was broadcast live to cinemas around the world – Brenda Rae returns to both houses this season: in her first Donna Anna in Claus Guth’s production of Don Giovanni, conducted by Ivor Bolton in Madrid, and as Rosina (Il barbiere di Siviglia) in New York. She otherwise makes welcome returns to Wiener Staatsoper as Konstanze (Die Entführung aus dem Serail) under Antonello Manacorda, and Oper Frankfurt as Elvira in Vincent Boussard’s staging of I puritani, and looks ahead to debuts at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and Salzburger Festspiele in future seasons.
As a former member of the ensemble of Oper Frankfurt, Brenda Rae amassed an impressive repertoire including Violetta (La traviata), Lucia di Lammermoor, Konstanze (Die Entführung aus dem Serail), Amina (La sonnambula), Giulietta (Les Contes d’Hoffmann), Zdenka (Arabella), Gilda (Rigoletto), and Zerbinetta (Ariadne auf Naxos) which has since become one of her most celebrated roles, leading to house debuts at the Staatsoper in Berlin, Hamburg and Munich. Elsewhere, Rae debuted at Opernhaus Zürich as Konstanze under Riccardo Minasi, English National Opera as Berg’s Lulu in William Kentridge’s production, Opéra national de Paris as Anne Trulove (The Rake’s Progress), Seattle Opera as Semele, and the 2011 Glyndebourne Festival as Armida (Rinaldo), which was part of the BBC Proms and released on DVD by Opus Arte.

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Brenda Rae made her US operatic stage debut at the 2013 Santa Fe Opera Festival as Violetta and has since returned as Norina (Don Pasquale), both Mme Vladimirescu and Mme Herz (The Impresario), Cunegonde (Candide) and Lucia. Brenda’s continued collaboration with Bicket has brought her house debut at Lyric Opera of Chicago as Ginevra (Ariodante), and performances as Handel’s Semele on tour with The English Concert to London, Paris and New York. Further appearances at home this season include Lucia for Opera San Antonio and Elvira with Washington Concert Opera under Antony Walker.
On the concert platform, Brenda Rae joined the orchestra of Teatro alla Scala on two occasions singing Mozart, most recently under Zubin Mehta, and in recital, is a regular guest of Wigmore Hall in London and the celebrated Schubertiade in Schwarzenberg, returning to the latter for their 2021 Edition. Brenda Rae appears on several recordings including Wagner’s Die Feen and Ariadne auf Naxos (both on Oehms Classics), Milhaud’s The Oresteia of Aeschylus (Naxos; nominated for a Grammy award), Lowell Liebermann’s Little Heaven (Albany Records) and Offenbach’s Fantasio released by Opera Rara.
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“The American Brenda Rae is also a debutant at the Teatro Real and surpassed herself in her second act arias in which the comic gives way to the resolving romanticism of Nemorino and Adina.”
“The brightly alluring Brenda Rae was alive to the varied emotions within Ginevra’s music, from the giddy enchantment of ‘Vezzi, lusinghe, e brio’ to the heart-stopping poignancy of ‘Il mio crudel martoro’.”
“She duly made ‘Myself I shall adore’ a captivatingly glamorous showpiece, sprinkling it with just the right amount of diva self-parody.”
“Ms Rae brought plush radiance to the confessional aria and brilliant, agile singing to the showpiece ‘The Morning Lark’.”
“In the role of Semele, Brenda Rae was exceptional!…displaying her magnificent technique, especially in the famous aria of Act III ‘Myself I shall adore’”
“her timbre unfolds beautifully to reveal her virtuosity, masterful melismas, and a remarkable ability to emit the quietest of sound, almost with the mouth closed. Her clear tone creates beautiful piani in the a cappella sleep scene, before reaching its peak in ‘Myself I shall adore’, where she demonstrates vocally brave coloratura passages sung in full voice.”
“The casting for this production could hardly have been better. In her Lyric Opera debut as Ginevra, Brenda Rae lit up the stage with her big, bright soprano voice, handling with ease both the high-flying vocal acrobatics and the dark emotions this role demands.”
“First there is Brenda Rae as Elvira [I puritani]. With intense tone and crystal-clear, breakneck coloratura she credibly portrayed the inner turmoil of the young woman.”
“in her debut as Elvira in I puritani, Brenda Rae was beautiful in every way.”
“Brenda Rae’s Cunegonde was a showstopper…her voice cut like a knife once her range hit the stratosphere.”
“Brenda Rae thrills in Hendrik Müller’s new production of Verdi’s Rigoletto in Frankfurt…Shortly before leaving Frankfurt’s opera ensemble, the soprano Brenda Rae once more proves to be perfect casting, not only as the girl with enchantingly effortless coloratura …but also as the determined young woman.”
“At the head of the cast is soprano Brenda Rae. She displayed fine musical sensitivities, fluent technique and dramatic flair in her depiction of the [Lucia]…She held the audience rapt in the palm of her bloody hand.”
“her mad scene makes this production…she both acts and sings this exceptionally difficult aria with a theatrical sense of insanity quite stunning in its depth of expression.”
“Equally exceptional is Brenda Rae, leading her Gilda from girlish chastity to glowing desire and the sobering perception that love can take a brutal toll. She savours the famous “Caro nome” aria with all its virtuosic subtleness in every sense…How versatile, touching and fascinating this wonderful voice is!”
“Brenda Rae as Gilda: contrasting the chaste and cool figure she plays, her soprano excels with variable nuances of warmth, a rich palette of piano colours and a meticulous negotiation of the coloratura passages.”
“Soprano Brenda Rae, a discover for many, became a constant source of vocal allure with the kind of dramatic instincts that turn a flashy cadenza into an intense character study.”
“A stellar performance by soprano Brenda Rae, in both her company and role debut as Amenaide, affirms her consummate mastery of Rossini’s elaborate ornamentations and her engaging acting skills, as she constantly astonishes with pure mellifluous voice, flawless executive of extended passages of coloratura, and profound emotional commitment to the compelling role of an honourable woman who would sooner give up her own life than betray her true love.”
“Brenda Rae’s Lulu, tirelessly busy and vocally spot-on, is the enigmatic centre of it all, very much the blank slate on which men can project their own fantasies, almost oblivious to her own allure.”
“Brenda Rae in the title role is less of a rapacious flirt than conventionally played, but this is also her strength, enabling us to see the character as a flesh-and-blood woman; her singing of the part is a tour de force.”
“English National Opera has assembled a superb cast, led by soprano Brenda Rae, making her ENO and role debut as the charismatic Lulu. Athletic and seductive, innocent and predatory, Rae captures the facets of the woman who exploits and is exploited by the men in her life.”
“Excellent Brenda Rae makes a suitably capricious femme fatale”
“Brenda Rae makes a sensational house debut in the title role, one of the most challenging in the repertoire. The American soprano husbands her resources early on, mindful of the extremes that lie ahead; yet she never undersings and her characterisation is dynamite. Fearless, probing and compelling, radiant of voice and beauty, she is the complete Lulu.”
“I doubt that Brenda Rae’s Aminta could be bettered in any theatre today. Just as sure of note and line as the orchestra and with greater, contrasting warmth, especially at those wonderful revelations, through the disguise of Timidia, of the fundamental humanity of Aminta, this was a performance to savour.”
Clare Erskine
