Ambur Braid (born Amber Dionne Braid;) is a Canadian

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

Early life and education

Braid was born in

Terrace, British Columbia Terrace is a city located near the Skeena River in British Columbia, Canada. The community is the regional retail and service hub for the northwestern portion of British Columbia. With a current population of over 12,000 within municipal boundarie ...

. She studied at The Royal Conservatory of Music Glenn Gould School with Donna Sherman from 2002–2006, where she achieved her Bachelor of Music and Artist Diploma in Voice Performance. She then went on to study with Wendy Hillhouse at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music from 2006–2008, where she attained her Master of Music. She then continued her studies at Operaworks with Ann Baltz, the Opera Workshop in St. Andrews-By-The-Sea with Wendy Nielsen, the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio (2010–2013) and the Ravinia Festival's Steans Institute (2012). From 2014–2016, Ambur moved to Athens, Greece to work with

Marina Krilovici Marina Krilovici (born 11 June 1942) is an opera soprano of Romanian birth. Early life Her first teacher and the most important was Mme Livia Vațianu-Vrăbiescu. Krilovici completed her studies at the Ciprian Porumbescu music academy in Buc ...

on a repertoire shift to roles like

Salome Salome (; he, שְלוֹמִית, Shlomit, related to , "peace"; el, Σαλώμη), also known as Salome III, was a Jewish princess, the daughter of Herod II, son of Herod the Great, and princess Herodias, granddaughter of Herod the Great, an ...

( Strauss) and the title role in Puccini's Tosca. Ambur Braid and Marina Krilovici

Career

After completing her Master of Music degree, Ambur made her professional debut with Opera Atelier as Diane in Gluck's

Iphigénie en Tauride ''Iphigénie en Tauride'' (, ''Iphigenia in Tauris'') is a 1779 opera by Christoph Willibald Gluck in four acts. It was his fifth opera for the French stage. The libretto was written by Nicolas-François Guillard. With ''Iphigénie,'' Gluck took ...

in 2009. As an alumna of the Canadian Opera Company's Ensemble Studio program, Ambur has a close relationship with the company, having performed Amor (

Orfeo ed Euridice ' (; French: '; English: ''Orpheus and Eurydice'') is an opera composed by Christoph Willibald Gluck, based on Orpheus, the myth of Orpheus and set to a libretto by Ranieri de' Calzabigi. It belongs to the genre of the ''azione teatrale'', mea ...

(2011), directed by Robert Carsen, conducted by Harry Bicket), the Queen of the Night ( The Magic Flute (2011, 2017), conducted by Johannes Debus), the Greek Woman (

(2011) with Pablo Heras-Casado/ Robert Carsen), Semele ( Semele (2012), conducted by

Rinaldo Alessandrini Rinaldo Alessandrini (born 25 January 1960) is a virtuoso on Baroque keyboards, including harpsichord, fortepiano, and organ. He is founder and conductor of the Italian early music ensemble Concerto Italiano, performing music of Monteverdi, Vivaldi ...

), Adele ( Die Fledermaus (2012), directed by Christopher Alden), and Vitellia ( La Clemenza di Tito, 2013) with them. Ambur made her European debut in

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

in a new production of The Rake's Progress as Anne Trulove, conducted by Joana Carneiro at Teatro Nacional de São Carlos (2015), and her UK opera debut at the English National Opera as The Queen of Night in Simon McBurney's The Magic Flute in 2016. She made her USA opera debut with the

Arizona Opera Arizona Opera is an opera company which operates in both Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona. History Arizona Opera was established in 1971 as the Tucson Opera Company, under founding general director James P. Sullivan, and presented its first productio ...

in 2014 as Violetta in Verdi's

La traviata ''La traviata'' (; ''The Fallen Woman'') is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on ''La Dame aux camélias'' (1852), a play by Alexandre Dumas ''fils'' adapted from his own 18 ...

. From 2016–2018, Ambur was highlighted in various productions of

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

's The Magic Flute as The Queen of the Night ( Oper Frankfurt, Calgary Opera, and Canadian Opera Company). The 2016/2017 and 2017/2018 seasons also included multiple role debuts for Braid, such as Dalinda ( Ariodante, Canadian Opera Company), Die Königin/Queen ( Das geheimes Königreich, Oper Frankfurt), Elisabetta ( Roberto Devereaux, Oper Frankfurt), and Tosca (titular role, Calgary Opera). All debut performances were highly acclaimed, with reviews praising her for her emotional nuance, vocal power, and strong stage presence. The 2018/2019 season saw Braid singing in productions of Wagner’s Die Walküre (Helmwige) and Maderna’s Satyricon (Scintilla) at Oper Frankfurt. A highlight of that season, Braid starred in the role of Sabina in the world premiere of Rufus Wainwright’s

Hadrian Hadrian (; la, Caesar Trâiānus Hadriānus ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. He was born in Italica (close to modern Santiponce in Spain), a Roman ''municipium'' founded by Italic settlers in Hispania B ...

at the Canadian Opera Company (directed by Peter Hinton, conducted by Johannes Debus). The star-studded cast featured Thomas Hampson (Hadrian) and Karita Mattila (Plotina) in their company debuts alongside Braid. In recent seasons, Braid returned to Oper Frankfurt to take on the titular role in Barrie Kosky's new production of

(2020, conducted

Joana Mallwitz Joana Mallwitz (born 1986 in Hildesheim) is a German conductor and pianist. Biography Mallwitz began to study violin at age 3, and piano at age 5. At age 14, she became a pupil of Christa-Maria Hartmann and Karl-Heinz Kämmerling. She continued ...

) and reprise her role in Krenek's Das geheimes Königreich. Ambur Braid made her European debut as Tosca in Andreas Kriegenburg’s production conducted by Carlo Montanaro for Oper Frankfurt, where she is a current member of the ensemble, and returned to the Canadian Opera Company as Salome in Atom Egoyan’s production under Johannes Debus. Praised as an artist ‘one would always wish for but seldom find’ (Das Opernglas), recent highlights have included Ambur Braid’s role and company debuts as both Eva in Schreker’s ''

Irrelohe ''Irrelohe'' is an opera in three acts by the Austrian composer Franz Schreker, libretto by the composer. Composition history Schreker wrote the libretto in a very short time (just a few days) in 1919.Christopher Hailey: ''Franz Schreker, 1878–1 ...

'' for Opéra de Lyon and Stephana in Umberto Giordano’s rarely performed '' Siberia'' for the Bregenzer Festspiele. In Frankfurt Ambur Braid has recently given her first performances as Norma conducted by Erik Nielsen, as well as Ariadne ('' Ariadne auf Naxos'') under Thomas Guggeis. Recent concert highlights have included Schmitt’s ''La Tragédie de Salomé'' with Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra under Alain Altinoglu and Beethoven’s Symphony No.9 with National Arts Centre Orchestra, Ottawa.

Other work

A strong advocate for getting younger audiences into classical arts, Ambur is a believer in all forms of collaborative art and has performed with Broken Social Scene,

The Arkells Arkells is a Canadian rock band, formed in Hamilton, Ontario. In 2006, they signed with Dine Alone Records, and have since signed with Universal Records Canada and Last Gang Records. They are managed by Last Gang Management. They have released s ...

, Austra, Dragonette, and

The Sam Roberts Band Sam Roberts (born October 2, 1974) is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter who has released seven albums. His debut EP ''The Inhuman Condition'', reached the Canadian charts in 2002. He and his bandmates have released three albums as Sam Roberts an ...

. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Braid began an outdoor concert festival ''Opera in the Wild'', in an effort to feature local, Canadian talent and emerging young artists. Braid also collaborated on the ''Starry Opera Night'' (2020) project with musician/producer Dan Kurtz and designer Isaac Rayment. This immersive event utilized the projection work of the Van Gogh projection installation in Toronto.

Film

Ambur is featured in the 2017 film The Upside, starring Bryan Cranston and Kevin Hart.

Repertory

Braid's repertoire includes: * Soprano Soloists, ''Ninth Symphony'' ( Beethoven) * Elisabetta, '' Roberto Devereux'' ( Donizetti) * Amor, ''

'' (Gluck) * Diana, ''

'' ( Gluck) * Aci, ''Aci, Galatea e Poliferno'' (

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...

) * Dalinda, '' Ariodante'' (Handel) * Semele, '' Semele'' (Handel) * Die Königin, '' Das geheimes Königreich'' (Krenek) * Scintilla, '' Satyricon'' (Maderna) * Konstanze, '' The Abduction of the Seraglio'' (

) * Elettra, '' Idomeneo'' (Mozart) * Queen of the Night, '' The Magic Flute'' (Mozart) * Vitellia, '' La Clemenza di Tito'' (Mozart) * Tosca, '' Tosca'' (Puccini) * Adele, '' Die Fledermaus'' (J. Strauss) * Salome, ''

'' (R. Strauss) * Anne Trulove, '' The Rake's Progress'' (Stravinsky) * Violetta, ''

La Traviata ''La traviata'' (; ''The Fallen Woman'') is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on ''La Dame aux camélias'' (1852), a play by Alexandre Dumas ''fils'' adapted from his own 18 ...

'' (Verdi) * Helmwige, '' Die Walküre'' (Wagner) * Sabina, ''

'' (Wainwright) * Norma, '' Norma'' (Bellini) * Senta, '' Der fliegende Holländer'' (Wagner) * Färberin, '' Die Frau ohne Schatten'' (Strauss) * Stephana, '' Siberia'' (Giordano) * Eva, ''

'' (Schrecker) Ambur's full repertoire list and stage credits can be found on her website or on OperaBase.

Recognition and awards

* 2013: Third Prize, Christina and Louis Quilico Awards "Congratulations to Ensemble Studio members"
''Canadian Opera Company Official Facebook Page'', 14 May 2013. Accessed 22 May 2018. * 2008: Winner

San Francisco Conservatory The San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM) is a private music conservatory in San Francisco, California. As of 2021, it had 480 students. History The San Francisco Conservatory of Music was founded in 1917 by Ada Clement and Lillian Hodg ...

Concerto Competition * 2006: Palm Beach Opera, Junior Division

References

External links

Ambur Braid Official Website

Harrison Parrott Artist Management
{{DEFAULTSORT:Braid, Ambur 1983 births Living people 21st-century Canadian women opera singers Canadian operatic sopranos Musicians from British Columbia People from Terrace, British Columbia