Talise Trevigne

Biography

Recent highlights for American soprano Talise Trevigne include the role of Violetta La Traviata in highly acclaimed performances at Calgary Opera; it was her first return to the role since her Royal Philharmonic Award win for Best Newcomer for the role in Graham Vick’s production at Birmingham Opera in 2007. She sang Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony under the baton of Leonard Slatkin with Rhode Island Philharmonic before joining Cincinnati Opera for Mimi La Boheme and the role of Patience in their world premiere, Castor and Patience, voted by the New York Times Best Opera of 2022. With Nathalie Stutzmann in her inaugural performances as Music Director at Atlanta Symphony Orchestra she sang Ah! Perfido and Beethoven’s Ninth.

Past season engagements included a European tour with Munich Philharmonic in repertoire featuring Mahler’s Second Symphony with Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, her debut as Countess Le Nozze di Figaro in her return to Calgary Opera, and further performances of Violetta in Canada.

Miss Trevigne became a Company Principal Artist at The Atlanta Opera in Season 2020-21 and sang Nedda I Pagliacci and Bess Porgy and Bess. She played the role of Sunny desert in for Boston Lyric Opera in their exciting new episodic opera drama devised for the small screen, curated and directed by James Darrah, and made a return appearance with CBSO for Tippett’s A Child of our Time in performances in the UK and Germany conducted by Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla.

The artist inaugurated the role of Ma in Missy Mazzoli’s highly lauded Proving Up at Omaha Opera and at Lincoln Centre; at Madison Opera she sang Nedda. At Theater Basel she appeared in the title role Madama Butterfly following her enormous success in the role at North Carolina Opera. For her recording of Christopher Rouse’s masterpiece Kabir Padavali with Albany Symphony she was honored with a 2016 Grammy Award nomination in the category Best Solo Classical CD. She made her Lyric Opera of Chicago debut as Kitty Hart Dead Man Walking.

Enjoying a long collaboration with composer Jake Heggie, Miss Trevigne sang the world premiere of his song cycle Pieces of 9/11 – Memories from Houston at Houston Grand Opera, where she also inaugurated the role of Clara It’s a Wonderful Life. She established the role of Pip the cabin boy Moby-Dick, written for her, in the world premiere at Dallas Opera in 2010, and appeared as Pip at San Francisco Opera, at San Diego Opera and at Washington National Opera. In 2015, she brought the role of Sister Rose Dead Man Walking into her repertoire at Opera Parallel in San Francisco, and covered the role at Lyric Opera of Chicago where she sang Kitty Hart.

Past roles include Mica.la Carmen at Hawaii Opera Theatre and at San Diego Opera, Ophelia Hamlet and Clara JFK at Fort Worth Opera and JFK at Opéra de Montréal – a Canadian debut; Leila Les Pêcheurs de Perles at North Carolina Opera, the title role Iris at Bard Festival, and she sang Getry’s rarely heard L’Epreuve Villageoise in recorded performances with Opera Lafayette. Her Heroines Les Contes d’Hoffmann at Opera de Lyon under the baton of Kazushi Ono and later at Israeli Opera with Frederic Chaslin were a great success. Talise has also appeared as Mabel Pirates of Penzance, Julie Showboat, Mimi La Boheme, Jemmy Guillaume Tell, Euridice Orfeo ed Euridice and the title role Manon.

Talise Trevigne made her UK stage debut as June Gibbons in the world premiere of Errollyn Wallen's The Silent Twins with Almeida Opera; she originated the title role in the world premiere of Judith Weir's Armida for the BBC. In 2007, she won the coveted Royal Philharmonic Society Music Award for her mesmerizing portrayal of Violetta in Graham Vick's La Traviata with Birmingham Opera and sang Gilda Rigoletto at the Dublin International Opera Festival in 2008. In her Australian debut, the Miss Trevigne appeared as The Beloved in the world premiere of Liza Lim's The Navigator, directed by Barrie Kosky for the Melbourne International Festival, and she revived the role at the Chekhov International Arts Festival in Moscow and at the Bastille in Paris (December 2009).

In concert, the artist’s appearances include Cantaloube's Chants D'Auvergne, Satie's Socrate, Mahler's Second Symphony and Fourth Symphony, Barber's Prayers of Kierkegaar, Strauss' Vier letzte Lieder and Four Last Songs and Carmina Burana. Talise Trevigne studied at the Manhattan School of Music and graduated with her Master’s in Music. While still a student, she made her operatic d.but under the direction of Julius Rudel as Violetta La Traviata and Zerlina Don Giovanni at the Aspen Music Festival.