Brenda Rae
Vocalists
— Soprano
-
Manager: Michael Benchetrit
Management Territory: Worldwide
“A triumph for Brenda Rae, a late replacement as Lucia - This is evidently a characterization which has been well thought through and rehearsed into the voice. Whether intelligently shading her tone to effect, spanning Donizetti's fioriture, or fearlessly crowning a phrase with a top Eb - there was no question as to the vocal, technical, and musical attributes here on offer. Lithe and rather willowy in physique, this is a soprano who ideally requires a partner of Piotr Beczala's stature, and indeed they turned out to be an exciting couple - well matched in every respect.” —Moore Parker, The Opera Critic, June 22, 2012
“As Armida, Brenda Rae displayed a sparkling and elegant soprano to match her supermodel figure.” —Rupert Christiansen, The Telegraph, July 4, 2011
“Zerbinetta, as sung by Brenda Rae, is this production’s good surprise. Hers is a rounder voice than that of other interpreters of the character, and she can also handle the dazzling acrobatics of her aria. She is also the only person on stage - even if that seems natural for the role - who avoids the static aspect of the rest of the production. And to top it off, her nice physique makes her character even more credible.” —Olivier Lalorette, Classique Info, February 28, 2011
About
American soprano Brenda Rae is currently a member of the ensemble at Oper Frankfurt. Ms. Rae’s extensive repertoire at Oper Frankfurt includes: the title role in Lucia di Lammermoor, Violetta in La Traviata, Anne Trulove in The Rake’s Progress, Konstanze in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Olympia in Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, Angelica in Vivaldi’s Orlando Furioso, the Governess in The Turn of the Screw, Oscar in Un Ballo in Maschera, Servilia in La Clemenza di Tito, Musetta in La Bohème, Lora . . . in Wagner’s Die Feen, the title role in de Almeida’s La Giuditta, Giunone in La Calisto and Sandrina in Mozart's La Finta Giardiniera. A particular calling card, her Konstanze was described as: "...immaculately sung...a fabulous performance by the young American soprano on the threshold of stardom." (Hugh Canning, Opera Magazine, August 2011)
The 2012-2013 season sees Brenda Rae as Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos for her debut with the Hamburgische Staatsoper, followed by a debut at the Paris Opera as Anne Trulove in The Rake’s Progress. Ms. Rae makes a return to the United States with two important debuts: first, her Polissena in Radamisto at Carnegie Hall (as part of a European and American tour with The English Concert and Harry Bicket) and in the summer as Violetta in La Traviata at the Santa Fe Opera. In Frankfurt Ms. Rae will continue her exploration of the Baroque repertoire with her debut as Cleopatra in a new production of Giulio Cesare and will sing the title-role in Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda in concert. In the spring, the soprano will return to Bordeaux for Pamina in Die Zauberflöte. Further European concert dates of Radamisto will include London, Paris, Birmingham and Toulouse, and in the early summer she will make her Schubertiade debut in Schwarzenberg, Austria. In the future, Brenda Rae will return to the Oper Frankfurt and the Bayerische Staatsoper in leading roles.
Last season, Ms. Rae added three new roles to her repertoire in Frankfurt: the title role in La Traviata, Anne Trulove in The Rake’s Progress, and Giunone in La Calisto - the latter two being new productions. The beginning of 2012 took her to Munich for her extremely successful debut at the Bayerische Staatsoper as Konstanze in Die Entfühurng aus dem Serail (and returned to that theater in the summer as Olympia in Les Contes d’Hoffmann), and to Italy to perform Mendelssohn’s Elias with the Teatro Filarmonico di Verona. Ms, Rae ended the season with a spectacular Wiener Staatsoper debut in the title role of Lucia di Lammermoor and with Mozart concerts at the Rheingau Music Festival.
Prior to that, Ms. Rae made two major debuts: first as Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos at L'Opéra National de Bordeaux, followed by Armida in Handel’s Rinaldo with the Glyndebourne Festival and the BBC Proms.
In the fall of 2007, Ms. Rae performed the role of Comtesse Adèle in Rossini's Le Comte Ory at Juilliard and in the summer of 2008, Ms. Rae sang the role of Tulip Brenner (described by the LA Times as “a major performance”) in William Bolcom’s A Wedding at the Music Academy of the West. Other highlights from her operatic performances while a student at Juilliard include the role of Arminda in Mozart’s La Finta Giardiniera, Eurydice in Orphée aux enfers by Offenbach, Diana in La Calisto by Cavalli, and Mary Shrike, a role she created in the world premiere of Lowell Liebermann's opera Miss Lonelyhearts. Ms. Rae spent two summers at Central City Opera as a young artist, where she gave a performance as the title role in Douglas Moore’s The Ballad of Baby Doe, and also performed the role of Valletto in L’Incoronazione di Poppea. During the summer of 2007 Ms. Rae was a member of Glimmerglass Opera’s Young American Artists Program, where she sang the role of Amour in Gluck’s Orphée et Eurydice. Her Amour was very well received, with critics describing her performance as "outstanding," "sparkling," and "dignified and elegant."
In 2007, Ms. Rae gave a recital at Alice Tully Hall as a winner of the Juilliard Vocal Arts Honor’s Recital. In January 2008, Ms. Rae gave a recital at Carnegie Hall under the auspices of the Marilyn Horne Foundation. Ms. Rae has been awarded First Prize honors from the Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation, the Bel Canto Foundation, and Wisconsin NATS. She is also the recipient of a Shoshana Foundation Richard F. Gold Grant from Central City Opera, and grants from the Giulio Gari Foundation, and the Annenberg Foundation.
Ms. Rae received her Artist Diploma from the Juilliard Opera Center in 2008, her Master of Music degree from the Juilliard School in 2006 and her Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2004.
Updated November 2012
