Ambur Braid
Vocalists
— Soprano
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Manager: Damon Bristo
Management Territory: Worldwide
“There was, however, a wonderful wake-up call given the production by Ambur Braid as the Queen of the Night. She eschewed the diva-esque posturing that many women adopt for the role and gave us instead a ravishing creature of glacially cold evil, which made the sharply carved icicle notes she dispensed during her signature Act II aria seem all the more appropriate.” —Richard Ouzounian, Toronto Star, April 7, 2013 - The Queen of Night in 'Die Zauberflöte' at Opéra Atelier
“Ambur Braid was our Vitellia, communicating malice with intense acting and a steely, tight vibrato. She cross-pollinated coloratura with verismo in Act 1; Non più di fiori, in Act 2, was nothing less than a mad scene. I must say this raven-haired Canadian does wicked rather well.” —Arthur Kaptainis, National Post, February 7, 2013 - Vitellia in 'La clemenza di Tito' at the Canadian Opera Company
“Ambur Braid drops her maid’s gear to emerge in finery as the best Adele ever: sexy, sparky, sensational.” —Richard Ouzounian, Toronto Star, October 4, 2012 - Adele in 'Die Fledermaus' at the Canadian Opera Company
About
Canadian soprano Ambur Braid is quickly establishing herself as a rising young artist in dramatic coloratura soprano roles that encompass Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, Massenet’s Esclarmonde, Handel’s Semele, and Mozart’s Queen of the Night.
In her final season as a member of the ensemble at the Canadian Opera Company, Ms. Braid will be seen in Christopher Alden’s new production of 'Die Fledermaus' as Adele and will perform the role of Vitellia in the Ensemble Studio performance of 'La clemenza di Tito'. Additionally in the 2012-2013 season, she sings the . . . Queen of the Night in 'Die Zauberflöte' at Opera Atélier. She also attended the Steans Institute at the Ravinia Festival in the summer of 2012. Next season, she makes her role debut as Violetta in 'La traviata' at Arizona Opera and returns to Opéra Atelier as Konstanze in Mozart's 'Die Entführung aus dem Serail'. She will also return to the Canadian Opera Company to cover the bel canto heroine of Elisabetta in 'Roberto Devereux'.
Last season, she performed the role of Stella in 'Les contes d’Hoffmann' and sang the title role in Handel’s 'Semele' in the Ensemble Studio performance. She also covered the role of Clémence in Kaija Saariaho’s 'L’amour de loin' at the Canadian Opera Company. She recently sang the Queen of the Night in the Ensemble Studio performance of 'Die Zauberflöte' to great acclaim causing the National Post to praise her turning a “stock figurine into a scary, knife-wielding matriarch.” Other recent appearances with the Canadian Opera Company include Amore in 'Orfeo ed Euridice', The Greek Woman in 'Iphigénie en Tauride', and the Danish Lady in 'Death in Venice'. Previous operatic credits include Diane in 'Iphigénie en Tauride' with Opera Atelier; Konstanze in 'Die Entführung aus dem Serail', Queen of the Night in 'Die Zauberflöte', Princess/Fire in 'L’enfant et les sortileÌges' with the San Francisco Conservatory; and Hippolyta in 'A Midsummer Night’s Dream' with The Glenn Gould School.
Ms. Braid received degrees from the Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory of Music and San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Her awards include the East Bay Opera Competition, San Francisco Conservatory Concerto Competition, and Palm Beach Opera Competition.
(Updated May 2013)
