Anna Stéphany

Anglo-French mezzo-soprano Anna Stéphany was born in the North East of England and studied at the Guildhall School of Music, where she was a recipient of the Gold Medal, and the National Opera Studio. She represented England at the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World and is a Kathleen Ferrier Award winner.

In the 2022/23 season Anna sings Cherubino in W. A. Mozart’s “Le nozze di Figaro” for both her company debut at the Semperoper Dresden, and in a return to the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. In concert, she can be heard as Sesto in Mozart’s “La clemenza di Tito” in a semi-staged performance with Opéra de Rouen, and as Irene in G. F. Handel’s “Theodora” with early music ensemble Arcangelo at the Barbican Centre and in Antwerp. She sings Handel’s “Messiah” alongside the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, and joins the Gabrieli Consort & Players for Edward Elgar’s “The Dream of Gerontius”.

Anna Stéphany was a member of the ensemble at Opernhaus Zürich from 2012 to 2015, where she made her debut as Cherubino in Mozart’s “Le nozze di Figaro”. Further roles in Zürich include Dorabella in Mozart’s “Così fan tutte”, Siebel in Charles Gounod’s “Faust”, Nicklausse in Jaques Offenbach’s “Les contes d’Hoffmann” and Minerva in Claudio Monteverdi’s “Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in Patria”. Her close relationship with the house has continued with Sesto in “La Clemenza di Tito”, a new production of Henry Purcell’s “King Arthur”, Romeo in Vincenzo Bellini’s “I Capuleti e i Montecchi” and Charlotte in Jules Massenet’s “Werther”.

One of her most coveted roles is Octavian in Richard Strauss’s “Der Rosenkavalier”, which she sang at the Bolshoi Theatre, the Royal Swedish Opera, and made her house debut at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in the role. Most recently, she has been heard in her role and company debut at the Opéra National de Paris as Le Prince in Massenet’s “Charmant Cendrillon”, under the baton of Carlo Rizzi, the Festival Aix-en-Provence as Idamante in Mozart’s “Idomeneo”, conducted by Raphael Pichon, the Opernhaus Zürich in the same role, as Octavian and as Hänsel in Engelbert Humperdinck’s “Hänsel und Gretel”.

On the concert platform Anna has appeared with some of the world’s finest orchestras including performances of Gioachino Rossini’s “Stabat Mater” and Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy’s “Elijah” with Orquesta y Coro Nacionales de España and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment under the baton of Masaaki Suzuki. She made two appearances at the 2018 BBC Proms season, “La damoiselle élue” by Claude Debussy with the Hallé Orchestra and Sir Mark Elder, and Maurice Ravel’s “L’enfant et les Sortileges” with the London Symphony Orchestra and Sir Simon Rattle. Anna Stéphany gave recitals at the Lammermuir Festival and in Zürich with the pianist Sholto Kynoch.

Anna Stéphany’s debut solo recording “Black is the Colour” with the Labyrinth Ensemble was released in 2018 on Alpha Classics. Featuring works by Luciano Berio, Manuel de Falla and Maurice Ravel, the disc won critical acclaim. Other recordings include the title role in Handel’s “Serse” with Christian Curnyn and the Early Opera Company for Hyperion. Anna Stéphany also appears alongside Juan Diego Florez as Charlotte in a DVD of Opernhaus Zürich’s “Werther” and as Sesto in Glyndebourne’s recent DVD release of “La Clemenza di Tito” from the 2017 festival.

As of June 2023.