RACHELLE DURKIN
Australian soprano Rachelle Durkin is one of opera's most striking young artists performing at major houses worldwide to critical acclaim.
"The spirited, bright-toned Rachelle Durkin brought tremendous vivacity to her role as the evil sorceress Armida" said The Australian, "demonstrating accuracy, agility, and a strong upper register in her many florid coloratura showpieces."
After winning the 2001 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, Rachelle joined the Metropolitan Opera's Lindeman Young Artists Development Program. She made her Metropolitan Opera debut as the First Handmaiden in Sly and has subsequently appeared as Clorinda inCenerentola, Young Girl and Naked Virgin in Moses und Aaron, Barena in Jenufa, Teresa in Benvenuto Cellini, Konstanze in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Masha inPique Dame, Elvira in L'Italiana in Algeri and First Flower Maiden in Parsifal - which she performed at the Salzburg Festival as part of the Met tour with Maestro Levine. In recent seasons, she performed a variety of repertoire including Armida in Rinaldo and Countess Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro with Opera Australia, Cunegonde in Candide with the Bellingham Festival of Music and her Carnegie Hall debut as the soprano soloist in Handel's Messiah.
Other acclaimed portrayals include Corinna in Chicago Opera Theater's production of Il Viaggio a Reims, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni in Brisbane, Perth and San Antonio and a Gala Concert with Jose Carreras in Perth entitled Opera Under the Stars. Rachelle is also a distinguished oratorio artist with repertoire ranging from the early works of Handel, Bach, Mozart and Beethoven to the more recent works of Bernstein, Gershwin and Sondheim. She has appeared with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, the New Choral Society of Central Westchester, Auckland Philharmonia, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra and the Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Queensland, Tasmanian and West Australian Symphony Orchestras.
Recent performances have included Gilda (Rigoletto) in Spain and Adelaide, the title role in Alcina in Sydney and Melbourne, Angelica (Orlando), Donna Anna and Fiordiligi (Così fan Tutte) in Sydney, Kumudha (A Flowering Tree) in Perth and returns to the Metropolitan as Miss Schlesen in Satyagraha and Frasquita inCarmen.
In 2010 and 2011, Rachelle Durkin featured Norina (Don Pasquale) and Miss Schlesen at the Metropolitan Opera, as Tytania (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Donna Anna and Countess Almaviva for Opera Australia and the title role in La Sonnambula andthe Four Heroines (The Tales of Hoffmann) for West Australian Opera. In 2012, she sings Violetta in La traviata for Opera Australia.
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