British-born and of Mauritian and Lithuanian heritage, Kezia Bienek moved to London from Gloucestershire at the ag of 16 to study musical theatre at the BRIT School. During that time, she was drawn to opera and went on to study at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She completed her studies at the Benjamin Britten International Opera School of the Royal College of Music in 2015. She is a Solti Te Kanawa Academia di Bel Canto alumna, and worked with many wonderful singers in various masterclasses during her training, notably Brigitte Fassbaender, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Sir Richard Bonynge and Sir Thomas Allen.
Current and recent engagements include the title role in Carmen and Beppe in L’amico Fritz for Opera Holland Park, Suzuki in Madama Butterfly and Second Lady in The Magic Flute for Welsh National Opera and Silvia (The Messenger) in Orfeo at Opera North, as well as a return to Glyndebourne Festival in 2024.
In 2018, she made her Glyndebourne Festival debut as Cornelia in Giulio Cesare and later that year as Dorothée in Cendrillon (directed by Fiona Shaw) in her début for Glyndebourne on Tour. In 2019 she appeared as Second Lady in The Magic Flute for her debut with the Welsh National Opera, to which she soon returned to sing Forester’s Wife (and cover Fox) in TheCunning Little Vixen. Other opera engagements have included La Frugola in Il tabarro and Gianetta in Don Bucefalo for the Wexford Festival Opera; Miss Jessel in The Turn of the Screw for the Barnes Festival; Iside in Giove in Argo and Tauride in Arianna in Creta for the London Handel Festival; Concepcion in L’heure espagnole and Doralice in La gazzetta with the Royal College of Music; Marcellina in Le nozze di Figaro with the British Youth Opera; and Dido in Dido and Aeneas with the Glyndebourne Youth Opera.
French mezzo-soprano Virginie Verrez is a graduate of New York’s Juilliard School. She won the 2016 Dallas Opera Guild Vocal Competition and was a winner of the 2015 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. She was a member of the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program from 2015 to 2017.
Recent concert engagements include Berlioz’s Roméo et Juliette and Schumann’s Das Paradies und die Peri with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and Daniel Harding; La Damoiselle élue with the Orchestre National de France and Bertrand de Billy; Beethoven’s Mass in C with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic and Karina Canellakis; Erika in Barber’s Vanessa with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin and David Zinman; Haydn’s Nelson Mass with the Orchestre National de Lyon and Omer Meir Wellber; Shéhérazade with the Minnesota Orchestra; a Mozart Gala with Le Concert d’Astrée featuring performances in Paris and Bahrain; and Duruflé’s Requiem with the Netherlands Radio Choir.
Recent operatic highlights include Stéphano (Roméo et Juliette) and Enrichetta (I puritani) for the Metropolitan Opera; the title role in Carmen for Welsh National Opera; Erika (Vanessa) at the Glyndebourne Festival; Suzuki (Madama Butterfly) for the Opéra National de Bordeaux and Iphigénie (Iphigénie en Tauride) for the Opéra National de Lorraine.
Verrez is a former member of the ensemble of the Wiener Staatsoper, where her roles included Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Cherubino (Le nozze di Figaro), Lola (Cavalleria rusticana), Idamante (Idomeneo), Tisbe (La Cenerentola) and Meg Page (Falstaff).
Born in Paris, Katia Ledoux later moved to Austria, where in 2008 she won First Prize in the Prima La Musica competition. In 2009, she was admitted to the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, later studying at the Kunstuniversität Graz. In 2018, she won the Press Prize in the International Vocal Competition ’s-Hertogenbosch, and, in 2019, she was a prizewinner at the 38th Belvedere Competition and the Nordfriesische Liedpreis at Husumer Liedkunst Wettbewerb.
Following her debut in 2019 as Geneviève in Pelléas et Mélisande conducted by Stéphane Denève and staged by Olivier Py, she returned to the Dutch National Opera to sing the alto solo in Rossini’s Petite messe solennelle under Andrea Battistoni.
At the Opernhaus Zürich, she was Gertrude in Ted Huffman’s production of Roméo et Juliette and Junon in Rameau’s Platée; she sang Ježibaba in Rusalka at the Oper Stuttgart. As a member of the International Opera Studio of Zurich, she sang the role of the Innkeeper in Barrie Kosky’s production of Boris Godunov. As a soloist of Volksoper Wien, she notably performed Venus in Orphée aux enfers and the third lady in Die Zauberflöte.
Ledoux created the role of Proserpine in the world premiere of Manfred Trojahn’s Eurydice – Die Liebenden, blind directed by Pierre Audi at the Opera Forward Festival and Makuba in Neo Muyanga’s How Anansi Freed the Stories of the World for Dutch National Opera.
Born in Strasbourg, Antoinette Dennefeld studied at the Haute École de Musique de Lausanne.
Winner of several international prizes, she sings at the opera and in concert in major houses and festivals including Opéra National de Paris, Opéra Comique in Paris, Opéra National de Lyon, Opéra de Marseille, Opéra de Dijon, Opéra national du Rhin, Opéra National de Lorraine, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Maggio musicale fiorentino in Italy, Opéra de Lausanne, Ópera de Tenerife and Festival d’Aix-en- Provence.
She excels across a wide range of repertoire: Mozart (Dorabella in Così fan tutte, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni); bel canto (Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Isolier in Le Comte Ory, Romeo in I Capuleti e i Montecchi); French repertoire (Charlotte in Werther, the title role in Carmen and La Périchole, Concepciòn in L’Heure espagnole, Le Prince in Cendrillon, Mélisande in Pelléas et Mélisande, Giulietta in Les Contes d’Hoffmann); and contemporary music (Yvonne, Princesse de Bourgogne by Philippe Boesmans).
Dennefeld made her debut in Falstaff (Meg) at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence and in Lyon, Carmen (title role) in Strasbourg and Mulhouse, Werther (Charlotte) in Marseille, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Hermia) in Lille and La Périchole at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, in Dijon and in Toulon, Pelléas et Mélisande (Mélisande) with the Orchestra National de France.
Opera News wrote of Elizabeth DeShong’s performance as Sesto in the Los Angeles Opera’s production of La Clemenza di Tito: “Elizabeth DeShong took pride of place as Sesto. Completely unrecognizable in her beard and dingy armor, DeShong sang with the range, expressiveness and musical precision that captured the hysterical extremes of her character. Much of Sesto’s music lies in the cellars of DeShong’s mezzo-soprano, where the intensely deep contralto tones she commands contrasted startlingly with the dazzling coloratura runs at the top of her range.”
During the 2019/20 season, Ms. DeShong will return to the Metropolitan Opera and the Royal Opera for performances as Suzuki in Madama Butterfly, the latter conducted by Sir Antonio Pappano. She will make her debut with the Melbourne Symphony as Hänsel in a concert performance of Hänsel and Gretel, sing Pauline in Pique Dame at Lyric Opera of Chicago — both conducted by Sir Andrew Davis — and make her debut at the Frankfurt Opera as Falliero in a new production of Bianca e Falliero.
Last season, Ms. DeShong performed Adalgisa in Norma with the North Carolina Opera, gave a recital for Vocal Arts, D.C., sang John Adams’ The Gospel According to the Other Mary with the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia with the composer conducting, and was a soloist in Handel’s Messiah with the San Francisco and Houston Symphonies, conducted by Jane Glover. Additional highlights were her debuts with the Los Angeles Philharmonic as Ariel in Sibelius’ The Tempest, the Philadelphia Orchestra in Rossini’s Stabat Mater, conducted by Yannick Nézet -Séguin, a tour of Europe and the United States with The English Concert in which she portrayed both Juno and Ino in Handel’s Semele, the Verdi Requiem with the Minnesota Orchestra, and Sesto in a new production of La Clemenza di Tito with the Los Angeles Opera.
In 2018/19, Ms. DeShong sang Ruggiero in Alcina at Washington National Opera, and Arsace in Semiramide at the Metropolitan Opera. In concert she performed Mendelssohn’s Elijah with Music of the Baroque, and made her debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in Schubert’s Mass No. 6, and the world premiere of Three Lisel Mueller Settings by Maxwell Raimi, both conducted by Riccardo Muti. On the European platform, Ms. DeShong portrayed Suzuki in a new production of Madama Butterfly at the Glyndebourne Festival, and made her debuts with the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, and at the Proms in Bernstein’s Symphony No. 1 (“Jeremiah”), under the direction of Sir Antonio Pappano, and sang Hänsel in a concert version of Hänsel and Gretel conducted by Sir Andrew Davis at the Edinburgh International Festival.
Further performances of note include Adalgisa in Norma at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, and her Royal Opera and Bayerische Staatsoper debuts as Suzuki. Ms. DeShong has performed extensively throughout the world with such companies as the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Los Angeles Opera, Canadian Opera Company, English National Opera, Wiener Staatsoper, Opéra National de Bordeaux, the Glyndebourne Festival, and Aix-en-Provence.
The list of symphony orchestras with whom she has performed includes the Cleveland Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Cincinnati Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra, Toronto Symphony, the Royal Flemish Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the Oregon Symphony, The English Concert, and the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia.
Ms. DeShong was the recipient of the Washington National Opera’s “Artist of the Year” award in 2010, as the Composer in Richard Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos. On DVD, she can be seen as Suzuki in the Royal Opera’s production of Madama Butterfly on Opus Arte, Hermia in the Metropolitan Opera’s pastiche opera The Enchanted Island (Virgin), and as Maffio Orsini in the San Francisco Opera’s production of Lucrezia Borgia (EuroArts Music and Naxos of America). Her recording of Handel’s Messiah with the Toronto Symphony under the direction of Sir Andrew Davis was released by Chandos and nominated for two Grammy Awards in 2018.
American Mezzo-soprano Irene Roberts continues to enjoy international acclaim as a singer of exceptional versatility and vocal suppleness. A resident artist with the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Roberts’ many roles this season include the title in Carmen, Marguerite in La Damnation de Faust, Nicklausse in Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Fenena in Nabucco, and Dulcinée in Don Quichotte. She recently made her debut at the Dutch National Opera as Nicklausse, and last summer made her debut at Teatro La Fenice in the role of Amneris in Aida and at the Macerata Opera Festival as the title role in Carmen.
Roberts has a close relationship with the San Francisco Opera where she made her debut in Les Contes d’Hoffmann in 2013. She has since returned as the title role in Calixto Bieto’s US debut production of Carmen, and in the world premiere of Bright Sheng’s Dream of the Red Chamber. Recent engagements have included Le nozze di Figaro and Parsifal at the Metropolitan Opera, Don Giovanni, Madama Butterfly, Les Contes d’Hoffmann, and Ariadne auf Naxos at Palm Beach Opera, L’Italiana in Algeri with Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Marschner’s Der Vampyr at New Orleans Opera, Il barbiere di Siviglia with Atlanta Opera, and Gounod’s Faust with Lyric Opera Baltimore.
On the concert stage, Roberts embarked on a five-city tour of France in May of 2017 with the Orchestre national d’Île-de-France as soloist for Rossini’s Stabat Mater under the baton of Enrique Mazzola. Roberts made her debut at London’s Wigmore Hall in 2016 in recital with tenor Bryan Hymel and pianist Julius Drake. Previous concert engagements include performances with Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, Miami’s New World Symphony led by Joshua Gersen, and at the US Naval Academy for its annual holiday presentation of Handel’s Messiah.
Roberts studied at the University of the Pacific and the Cleveland Institute of Music, and is a graduate of the young artist program at Palm Beach Opera. She won 2nd prize in the Advanced Division at the 41st Annual Palm Beach Opera Vocal Competition and was a finalist for the 2014 Richard Tucker Career Grant.
Among recent and future engagements: Carmen, Nabucco, Madama Butterfly and Tristan und Isolde in Berlin, Julie in Opéra nationale Lorraine, Così fan tutte in San Francisco, Parsifal in Hannover, Tannhäuser in Klagenfurt and Lyon, Il Proscritto by Mercadante with Opera Rara in London.
Irene Roberts’ performance in Mercadante’s Il proscritto is generously supported by Michael Buckley.
Ann Taylor was born in Wrexham and studied at the RNCM, GSMD and National Opera Studio. Since her debut for Opera North she has sung with WNO, Scottish Opera, Glyndebourne Festival and Touring Opera and for La Monnaie, Opera Zuid, Bayerische Staatsoper and the New Zealand Festival. Engagements have included the title roles of Ariodante and Gluck’s Orfeo, Rosina, Hänsel, Cherubino, Dorabella, Ramiro/La Finta Giardiniera, Varvara/Katya Kabanova, Pipo/The Thieving Magpie, Hermia/A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Kristina/The Makropoulos Case, Oreste/La Belle Helene, and Kate/Owen Wingrave as well as three world premières: Sarah/Tobias and the Angel and Stewardess /Flight both by Dove, and Judy and Grey Wolf / Baa Baa Black Sheep by Michael Berkeley. Concerts engagements include the BBC Proms, Edinburgh and Cheltenham Festivals, the LPO, the Hallé, BBC Philharmonic, BBC National Orchestra of Wales. Ann has recorded Mercadante’s Virginia, Ricci’s Corrado d’Altamura, Offenbach’s Vert-Vert and Donizetti’s Parisina with Opera Rara.
