SYLVIA O'BRIEN SOPRANO

Regarded as one of Ireland's leading sopranos, Sylvia O'Brien has impressed audiences internationally in her performances of opera, oratorio and chamber music. Since her critically acclaimed debut as the Governess in Britten’s The Turn of the Screw in 2004, Ms O’Brien has performed numerous leading roles such as The Countess (Le Nozze di Figaro), Konstanze (Die Entfuhrung), Anne Trulove (A Rake’s Progress), Fiordiligi (Cosi Fan Tutte), Donna Anna (Don Giovanni), Jenufa (Jenufa). Since 2018, she has been performing the dramatic title roles in Tosca, Turandot, Idomeneo, Lucia di Lammermor, Il Trovatore and Lohengrin.  As a concert performer, Ms O’Brien is a regular guest soloist with orchestras, chamber ensembles, recital halls and festivals throughout Europe.   

​

Her vocal and musical skills make her an important singer in her contemporary repertoire. Ms O'Brien has commissioned, collaborated on, and premiered many works. Her most notable collaborations include composers Seóirse Bodley, Raymond Deane, Siobhan Cleary, Brian Irvine and Benjamin Dwyer. Significant contemporary performances include Feldman’s Neither, Crumb's Appartition Vivier's Lonely Child and Gerald Barry’s The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant. Ms O’Brien is a founding member of Evlana, the Irish sinfonietta orchestra founded  in 2016. Ms O'Brien has commissioned, collaborated on, and premiered many works. Her most notable collaborations include composers Seóirse Bodley, Raymond Deane, Siobhan Cleary, Brian Irvine and Benjamin Dwyer. 

​

Awarded Doctor of Music from Trinity College Dublin, Dr O’Brien is a member of the vocal faculty of the Royal Irish Academy of Music where she lectures in voice, specialising in French song and contemporary vocal music. She is regularly invited internationally to present masterclasses and appointed as adjudicator for vocal competitions. As an active member of the Society of Musicology of Ireland, she presents lectures in vocal practice on standard and contemporary music. Dr O'Brien has been awarded status as Artist-in -Residence on several occasions as well as presenting workshops for composers.

​

Upcoming performances include works by Crumb, Corriglione, Bodley, Cleary and Doherty, Debussy, Dramatic Heroines of Opera (Tour),  masterclasses and numerous oratorio, chamber and recital performances and recordings.