Anna Leese
Encyclopedia
Anna Leese is a New Zealand born soprano
opera
singer. She made her debut at the Royal Opera House
Covent Garden in 2006, as understudy for the part of Musetta in Giacomo Puccini
's La bohème
. She returned to sing the part in her own right in 2008.
She graduated and earned multiple prizes at the University of Otago
, plus the 2002 Mobil Song Quest, before moving to London for graduate work at the Royal College of Music
and at the Benjamin Britten International Opera School. She performed at Opéra Les Azuriales
Festival at Cap Ferat in 2007 and sang solo arias by Mozart, Gounod, Bizet, Dvořák
, Puccini and 'Cara la mia fiamma' from Adriano in Siria by J C Bach
in Seillans
and Mons in the Var, France at the 2007 Musique-Cordiale
Festival. Other Covent Garden engagements in 2007 were as Micaela in Carmen
and Echo in Ariadne auf Naxos
.
In 2008, she sang as Musetta in La bohème at Covent Garden. She also sang in the choral solo in Beethoven's Fantasia in the Last night of the BBC Proms, accompanied by the famous pianist Helene Grimaud
, and conducted by Sir Roger Norrington
at the Royal Albert Hall
before going on tour to Korea with José Carreras
. She has an extensive New Zealand tour at Christmas, soon followed by the Mozart Requiem in Canterbury Cathedral
in January 2009. Among many other 2009 scheduled recitals and performances, there is a further series with Carreras in New Zealand, concerts in Germany, Belgium & Britain and return solo performances at the Musique-Cordiale Festival in Seillans, France (August 2009) and the Linari Festival in Tuscany, Italy (July 2009). She sang Tatyana in Eugene Onegin
for the New Zealand Opera and in March 2009 made her North American debut as Musetta for the Canadian Opera Company
.
Anna Leese supported Andrea Bocelli
at his concert in Auckland
, New Zealand at the Vector Arena on 20 August 2008.
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
singer. She made her debut at the Royal Opera House
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
Covent Garden in 2006, as understudy for the part of Musetta in Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini was an Italian composer whose operas, including La bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot, are among the most frequently performed in the standard repertoire...
's La bohème
La bohème
La bohème is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions quadro, a tableau or "image", rather than atto . by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger...
. She returned to sing the part in her own right in 2008.
She graduated and earned multiple prizes at the University of Otago
University of Otago
The University of Otago in Dunedin is New Zealand's oldest university with over 22,000 students enrolled during 2010.The university has New Zealand's highest average research quality and in New Zealand is second only to the University of Auckland in the number of A rated academic researchers it...
, plus the 2002 Mobil Song Quest, before moving to London for graduate work at the Royal College of Music
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire founded by Royal Charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, England.-Background:The first director was Sir George Grove and he was followed by Sir Hubert Parry...
and at the Benjamin Britten International Opera School. She performed at Opéra Les Azuriales
Opera Azuriales
The Opéra Les Azuriales , founded in 1997 by Sarah Holford, the Festival's President, and others from the local community. It takes place each year in August on Cap Ferrat, a part of the Côte d'Azur in France....
Festival at Cap Ferat in 2007 and sang solo arias by Mozart, Gounod, Bizet, Dvořák
Antonín Dvorák
Antonín Leopold Dvořák was a Czech composer of late Romantic music, who employed the idioms of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia. Dvořák’s own style is sometimes called "romantic-classicist synthesis". His works include symphonic, choral and chamber music, concerti, operas and many...
, Puccini and 'Cara la mia fiamma' from Adriano in Siria by J C Bach
Johann Christian Bach
Johann Christian Bach was a composer of the Classical era, the eleventh and youngest son of Johann Sebastian Bach. He is sometimes referred to as 'the London Bach' or 'the English Bach', due to his time spent living in the British capital...
in Seillans
Seillans
Seillans is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.It is a ville perché overlooking the plain between the southern Alps and the Esterel, which borders the sea between Cannes and Saint-Raphaël...
and Mons in the Var, France at the 2007 Musique-Cordiale
Musique-Cordiale
The Musique-Cordiale Festival Musiques en Liberté is the name for an international festival of music and song and for a series of other musical events in France and Britain. It grew from a dream of making music and encouraging musical appreciation at the highest level in the most conducive...
Festival. Other Covent Garden engagements in 2007 were as Micaela in Carmen
Carmen
Carmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself possibly influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...
and Echo in Ariadne auf Naxos
Ariadne auf Naxos
Ariadne auf Naxos is an opera by Richard Strauss with a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. Bringing together slapstick comedy and consuming beautiful music, the opera's theme is the competition between high and low art for the public's attention.- First version :The opera was originally...
.
In 2008, she sang as Musetta in La bohème at Covent Garden. She also sang in the choral solo in Beethoven's Fantasia in the Last night of the BBC Proms, accompanied by the famous pianist Helene Grimaud
Hélène Grimaud
Hélène Grimaud is a French pianist.-Biography:Grimaud was born in Aix-en-Provence, France. Although her autobiography Variations Sauvages suggests a...
, and conducted by Sir Roger Norrington
Roger Norrington
Sir Roger Arthur Carver Norrington, CBE is a British conductor. He is the son of Sir Arthur Norrington and his brother is Humphrey Thomas Norrington....
at the Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
before going on tour to Korea with José Carreras
José Carreras
Josep Maria Carreras i Coll , better known as José Carreras , is a Spanish Catalan tenor particularly known for his performances in the operas of Verdi and Puccini...
. She has an extensive New Zealand tour at Christmas, soon followed by the Mozart Requiem in Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England and forms part of a World Heritage Site....
in January 2009. Among many other 2009 scheduled recitals and performances, there is a further series with Carreras in New Zealand, concerts in Germany, Belgium & Britain and return solo performances at the Musique-Cordiale Festival in Seillans, France (August 2009) and the Linari Festival in Tuscany, Italy (July 2009). She sang Tatyana in Eugene Onegin
Eugene Onegin (opera)
Eugene Onegin, Op. 24, is an opera in 3 acts , by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto was written by Konstantin Shilovsky and the composer and his brother Modest, and is based on the novel in verse by Alexander Pushkin....
for the New Zealand Opera and in March 2009 made her North American debut as Musetta for the Canadian Opera Company
Canadian Opera Company
The Canadian Opera Company is an opera company in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest opera company in Canada and the third largest producer of opera in North America. The COC performs in its own opera house, the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts.-History:For 40 years until...
.
Anna Leese supported Andrea Bocelli
Andrea Bocelli
Andrea Bocelli, is an Italian tenor, multi-instrumentalist and classical crossover artist. Born with poor eyesight, he became blind at the age of twelve following a soccer accident....
at his concert in Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
, New Zealand at the Vector Arena on 20 August 2008.
Sources
- Benson, Nigel, "Soprano back among friends", Otago Daily TimesOtago Daily TimesThe Otago Daily Times is a newspaper published by Allied Press Ltd in Dunedin, New Zealand.-History:Originally styled The Otago Daily Times, the ODT was first published on November 15, 1861. It is New Zealand's oldest surviving daily newspaper - Christchurch's The Press, six months older, was a...
, 9 August 2008 - Coulbourn, John, "Songs of tragic love", Toronto SunToronto SunThe Toronto Sun is an English-language daily tabloid newspaper published in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is known for its daily Sunshine Girl feature and for what it sees as a populist conservative editorial stance.-History:...
, 20 April 2009 - Morrison, Richard, "La bohème", The TimesThe TimesThe Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
25 October 2006 - New Zealand Herald, "Soprano's opera quality voice", 17 July 2003