About Avery Amereau
Avery Amereau has garnered much attention for the unique quality of her timbre and sensitive interpretation. The New York Times proclaims she is “a rarity in music” and “an extraordinary American alto on the rise.”
Highlights of the 2017-18 season include company and role debuts as Cherubino in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro with the Grand Théâtre de Genève and Ursule in Berlioz’s Béatrice et Bénédict with the Seattle Opera, a debut with the Salzburger Festspiele, and a return to the Metropolitan Opera as Kate Pinkerton in Anthony Minghella’s beloved production of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly. On the concert stage, Ms. Amereau debuts with the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra under Nicholas McGegan in a concert of new music and returns later in the season for Beethoven’s Mass in C Major and Choral Fantasy. She will debut with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s in a program of Vivaldi arias, and will rejoins the American Classical Orchestra for the Brahms Alto Rhapsody. She makes duo appearances with the Santa Fe Pro Musica for a series of Christmas and Easter concerts, and in December performs Handel’s Messiah with the Phoenix Symphony, Nashville Symphony and University Musical Society of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
The 2016-17 season saw her professional operatic debut with the Metropolitan Opera, at the age of 25, as the Madrigal Singer in Puccini’s Manon Lescaut. The New York Times praised her performance as “captivating…. [Amereau] stood out for the unusually rich, saturated auburn timbre of her voice.” She also made her debut with Glyndebourne Festival Opera as Dryad Ariadne auf Naxos, having previously covered the title role in Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia. She also performed the title role of Carmen with Opera Columbus. On the concert stage, she made debuts with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra conducted by Paul McCreesh and Concerts at St. Thomas Church in New York City singing Handel’s Messiah, joined the Rhode Island Philharmonic for Mozart’s Requiem under the baton of Bramwell Tovey, sang Berlioz’s Les Nuits d’eté with the American Classical Orchestra, performed Bach’s St. John Passion with Voices of Ascension, and appeared with Santa Fe Pro Musica in a program of early music arias.
Other recent highlights include the title role in Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia, Olga in Eugene Onegin, the Third Lady in Die Zauberflöte, and Narciso in Handel’s Agrippina at The Juilliard School, and concert engagements include the Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy with the Spoleto Festival, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Santa Cruz Symphony, the Duruflé Requiem with Voices of Ascension, an evening of Bach Cantatas with the Toledo Symphony, and Martin’s Golgotha with the New Amsterdam Singers.
Ms. Amereau fosters a love for historical performance, having performed under the batons of renowned early music conductors Helmut Rilling, William Christie, and Maasaki Suzuki. She debuted at the Bachfest Leipzig and the Boston Early Music Festival in an all-Bach tour with Juilliard and the Royal Academy of Music under Maestro Suzuki, of which The Boston Musical Intelligencer wrote, “mezzo-soprano Avery Amereau drew the drama from someplace deep within herself, the lowest notes a rich, enveloping curtain of clarity and undulating vibrato. Her sotto voce da capo was a moment of easy musical magic.” An avid recitalist, Ms. Amereau has performed recitals in New York, Florida, and Germany. The latter was broadcast on Bavarian Radio.
A native of Jupiter, Florida, Ms. Amereau received her Bachelor of Music degree at Mannes College, and her Master of Music and Artist Diploma at The Juilliard School studying under Edith Wiens, where she was a proud recipient of a Kovner Fellowship. She has studied at the Internationale Meistersinger Akademie in Bavaria, Germany, and was chosen by the Shoshana Foundation as a 2017 Richard. F. Gold Career Grant recipient.
