Brenda Rae

Soprano
Brenda Rae
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“The best thing about Santa Fe’s new production of Lucia di Lammermoor was Brenda Rae’s stunning performance in the title role”

(Opera Magazine, October 2017)

American soprano Brenda Rae’s outstanding qualities in the lyric coloratura repertoire have been acclaimed on both sides of the Atlantic.

This season includes her debut at Opernhaus Zürich as Konstanze (Die Entführung aus dem Serail) under Riccardo Minasi, her first operatic appearance at Teatro alla Scala as Zerbinetta (Ariadne auf Naxos), her first return as a guest to Oper Frankfurt as Elvira (I puritani), and a return to Opera Philadelphia as Lucia di Lammermoor, following her star turn in the role for Santa Fe Opera. Brenda Rae joins Harry Bicket and The English Concert on tour to London, Paris and New York as Semele, sings Mozart’s Mass in C minor with Zubin Mehta and the orchestra of Teatro alla Scala, and gives her debut recital at Wigmore Hall in a programme of Strauss, Liszt, Debussy, Schubert and Fanny Mendelssohn.

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Quando rapito in estasi from Lucia di Lammermoor © Santa Fe Opera

Recent notable debuts include Lucia at the Wiener Staatsoper, Zerbinetta in both Hamburg and Berlin, Anne Trulove (The Rake’s Progress) at Opéra national de Paris and, in new repertoire, Berg’s Lulu for English National Opera.

Brenda Rae appears as Armida in Handel’s Rinaldo on Opus Arte DVD from the Glyndebourne Festival, and sings Zerbinetta (Ariadne auf Naxos) on the Oehms label CD release, recorded live from Oper Frankfurt. Future projects include debuts with the Metropolitan Opera and Teatro Real Madrid.

Gallery

Santa-Fe-Opera-Candide-3 (c) Ken Howard
Zerbinetta
Purintani
Gilda
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Gilda
Puritani
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Bellini: I puritani © Oper Frankfurt
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Verdi: Rigoletto © Oper Frankfurt
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Handel: Semele - Myself I Shall Adore © Seattle Opera
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Strauss: Ariadne auf Naxos trailer © Oper Frankfurt
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Handel: Giulio Cesare trailer © Oper Frankfurt

“She duly made ​‘Myself I shall adore’ a captivatingly glamorous showpiece, sprinkling it with just the right amount of diva self-parody.”

(Opera Magazine, June 2019)

“Ms Rae brought plush radiance to the confessional aria and brilliant, agile singing to the showpiece ​‘The Morning Lark’.”

(New York Times, April 2019)

“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’”

(ConcertoNet, April 2019)

“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.”

(Olyrix, April 2019)

“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.”

(Chicago Sun-Times, March 2019)

“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.”

(Online Musik Magazin, December 2018)

“in her debut as Elvira in I puritani, Brenda Rae was beautiful in every way.”

(Neue Musikzeitung, December 2018)

“Brenda Rae’s Cunegonde was a showstopper…her voice cut like a knife once her range hit the stratosphere.”

(Opera Magazine, November 2018)

“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.”

(Allgemeine Zeitung, February 2018)

“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.”

(Santa Fe New Mexican, July 2017)

“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.”

(Albuquerque Journal, July 2017)

“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!”

(Frankfurter Neue Presse, March 2017)

“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.”

(Frankfurter Rundschau, March 2017)

“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.”

(Philadelphia Inquirer, February 2017)

“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.”

(DC Metro Theater Arts, February 2017)

“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.”

(Andrew Clements, Guardian, November 2016)

“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.”

(Evening Standard, November 2016)

“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.”

(Express, November 2016)

“Excellent Brenda Rae makes a suitably capricious femme fatale”

(Express, November 2016)

“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.”

(What’s On Stage, November 2016)

“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.”

(Opera Today, July 2015)
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