Kristine Opolais © Polina Viljun

Singer

Kristine Opolais

Soprano

Biography – about the artist.

Kristine Opolais is one of the most sought-after sopranos on the international scene, with an established reputation amongst the world’s pre-eminent singing actresses. Opolais has appeared at The Metropolitan Opera, Wiener Staatsoper, Staatsoper Berlin, Bayerische Staatsoper, Teatro alla Scala, Opernhaus Zürich, and the Royal Opera House. She collaborates with renowned conductors including Daniel Barenboim, Sir Antonio Pappano, Sir Simon Rattle, Sir Mark Elder, Andris Nelsons, Fabio Luisi, and Kirill Petrenko.

Highlights of Ms. Opolais’ 23/24 season include her greatly anticipated return to the title role of Verdi’s Aida, in a new production at Lithuanian National Opera. She joins celebrated pianist Agnese Egliņa for a series of recitals in Latvia, Hungary and Brazil. A further highlight includes a concert performance of Shostakovich’s Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk with the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall and at Boston Symphony Hall, led by Andris Nelsons.

Last season, Opolais sang her signature role of Madama Butterfly at the Teatro Municipale Giuseppe Verdi Salerno. Critics raved about her “highly moving” performance, saying she “leads the character with perfection, she is THE Madame Butterfly, and she has endless power over the personality” In concert, she sang gala performances with the Istanbul State Opera and Ballet in Istanbul and Ankara, as well as a tribute concert at Latvian National Opera, given in memory of Andrejs Žagars. She also performed a concert of arias by Puccini, Cilea, Verdi, and more in a New Year’s concert with the Gulbenkian Orchestra, led by Ukrainian conductor Oksana Lyniv.


Kristine Opolais has been celebrated for her distinctive performances at The Metropolitan Opera, including her appearances in La bohème, Madama Butterfly, and new productions of Manon Lescaut and Rusalka, which received international broadcasts as part of the Met’s Live in HD cinema series. In 2018, Opolais returned to the Met to sing Suor Angelica, a role she previously recorded on the Orfeo label. Famously in 2014, she made history at the Met with two role debuts in 18 hours. She gave an outstanding performance in the title role of Madama Butterfly, only to step in the following day for a matinée of La bohème, which was broadcast into theatres worldwide.

Opolais’ appearances at the Royal Opera House, where she has been heralded as “the leading Puccini soprano of today” (The Telegraph), include the title roles in Tosca, Manon Lescaut, and Madama Butterfly. She also has a significant relationship with the Bayerische Staatsoper, which began in 2010 when she made her debut as Rusalka in Martin Kušej’s new production. Her additional roles in Munich include Manon Lescaut, Madama Butterfly, Tatjana in Eugene Onegin, Margherita in Mefistofele, and Vitellia in La clemenza di Tito.

Opolais has made solo concert and recital appearances at the Salzburg Festival, BBC Proms, Tanglewood Festival, the Musikverein Wien, Baden-Baden Festspielhaus, Royal Opera House Muscat, Royal Concertgebouw, and Carnegie Hall. She has appeared with the Berliner Philharmoniker, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, the Concertgebouworkest, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Filarmonica della Scala and the NHK Symphony Orchestra. Opolais ’discography includes a DVD of “Tosca” in Baden-Baden with the Berliner Philharmoniker, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle.

SEASON 2023/2024

 

Your contact persons:

Concerts and Special Projects:

Kellie Mills Chappell

+44 20 7395 09-35

kellie.mills@kdschmid.co.uk

Concerts and Special Projects:

Ellen Arkwright

+44 20 7395 09-37

ellen.arkwright@kdschmid.co.uk

Elspeth Manders

Artist Coordinator

+44 20 7395 09-36

elspeth.manders@kdschmid.co.uk

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Discography.

Puccini

Tosca

10.2017, Euroarts, DVD

> Amazon

Arrigo Boito

Mefistofele

11.2016, C Major, DVD

> Amazon

Puccini

Manon Lescaut

10.2015, Sony Music Entertainment Germany, DVD

> Amazon

Verdi

Simon Boccanegra

09.2013, Decca, CD

> Amazon > iTunes

Puccini

Suor Angelica

08.2012, Orfeo, CD

> Amazon > iTunes

News.

Kristine Opolais shines as Floria Tosca in new DVD release

Read more

Kristine Opolais returns with concerts to South America

Read more

Stars of the Operatic Sky

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Press.

„Her acting was riveting, colored by her sensitivity to the words, and well served by her singing… overall this was an imaginative and powerful performance.“

Kevin Wells, Bachtrack, 29.01.2024

„Vocally, she was excellent, fire wreathed in ice.“

A.Z. Madonna, Boston Globe, 26.01.2024

„… the entrance aria, ‘Io son l’umile ancella’ from Cilea’s “Adriana Lecouvreur”, she showed her mastery of the role, with a (usually omitted) masterly recitative, and a phrasing of great authority and beautiful conviction.“

Espresso 50, Jorge Calado, 13.01.2023

„She makes reading her emotions so easy, it’s perfectly clear and seems like they are flowing through her. She’s a natural. Her interpretation is incredible. - Madame Butterfly (great Kristine Opolais) leaves us speechless.“

Broadway World, Natalia Jardynska, 20.06.2022

„Yet the evening wouldn’t have been as successful without the performance of the seven sopranos… All the more reason, then, to praise… Kristine Opolais’ defiantly proud “Un bel dì vedremo”.“

Bachtrack, Elena Luporini, 15.05.2022

„Deutsche Grammophone, Shostakovich Symphonies Nos 1. 14 and 15 with Boston Symphony Orchestra, Kristine Opolais, cond Andris Nelsons - The soloists in the 14th – a death-obsessed song-symphony dedicated to Britten – are outstanding“

The Times, Richard Fairman, 20.06.2021

„Latvian soprano Kristine Opolais brought tonal radiance to ‘Song to the Moon’ that she sang as a heartfelt prayer.“

Seen and Heard International, Jim Pritchard, 01.09.2020

„The vocal and dramatic emotion and beauty of the last act could hardly be surpassed. This was of course also due to Kristine Opolais' contribution. Her Manon is full of life, full of inner conflict and develops from the naïve young girl, the Des Drieux, who also loves luxury, to a mature dying woman and realises too late what really matters. Her singing is full of passion but also tenderness, her timbre is unique. She combines liveliness with a certain seriousness and maturity.“

Das Opernmagazin, 22.03.2019