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Donna Brown (born 1955) is a Canadian soprano opera singer whose voice has been described as “shimmering”,“luminous”,“gemlike in its brilliance”. She has performed on opera and concert stages throughout Europe, Asia, North America and South America. Her repertoire covers opera, oratorio, recital and chamber music as well as contemporary collaborations.

Studies
Donna Brown studied voice, piano and composition in Ottawa, Canada, before going to McGill University in Montreal for the Voice Performance program. She moved to Paris to continue her studies with Noémie Pérugia, concentrating on the interpretation of French Art Song. She studied vocal technique and opera with Daniel Ferro at the Fondation Royaumont in France. A Scholarship from the Franz Schubert Institute in Baden bei Wien, Austria, led to an intensive course on the German Lied. A scholarship from the Herbert Von Karajan Institute brought her to Salzburg for studies with Edith Mathis, with whom she studied oratorio and opera roles. Ms. Brown also studied the belcanto technique in Venice with Randolf Mickelson.

Opera
Ms. Brown’s opera career had a stellar launch when she performed as Michaela in the Peter Brook production of La Tragédie de Carmen. This production played for three months in Paris, in Peter Brook’s Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord, and subsequently toured Europe.

Ms. Brown received critical acclaim for her opera roles, notably Pamina in Die Zauberflöte; Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier; Almirena in Rinaldo (opera); Gilda in Rigoletto; Rosina in The Barber of Seville; Michaela in Carmen; Nanetta in Falstaff; Zerlina in Don Giovanni; Servillia in La Clemenza di Tito; Serpetta in La Finta Giardiniera; Madeleine in Le Postillon de Lonjumeau; Aricie in Hippolyte et Aricie; and Morgana in Alcina.

She performed with prestigious opera companies, including the Opéra national de Paris (Opéra Bastille and Palais Garnier), English National Opera (London Coliseum), Grand Théâtre de Genève, Théâtre royal de la Monnaie (Brussels), Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Amsterdam Royal Opera, Dutch National Opera (Opera Amsterdam), Canadian Opera Company, and Vancouver Opera.

Ms. Brown was asked to create two opera roles in her career: the role of Chimène in the world premiere creation of Debussy’s unfinished opera Rodrigue et Chimène under the direction of Kent Nagano for the Opera de Lyon, and the role of Scylla in Scylla et Glaucus, under the direction of Sir John Eliot Gardiner, for the Opera de Lyon.

Concerts
Aside from opera, Ms. Brown has performed with the world's top conductors, including Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Bernard Haitink, Helmuth Rilling, Kent Nagano, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Kurt Masur, Carlo Maria Giulini, Jeffrey Tate, Charles Dutoit, Antonio Pappano, Armin Jordan, Daniel Barenboim, and Jane Glover.

Maintaining a special collaboration for over 15 years with Helmuth Rilling and John Eliot Gardiner, Brown recorded numerous CDs and DVDs with both of them. She also sang for baroque specialist conductors William Christie, Trevor Pinnock, Philippe Hereweghe, Bernard Labadie, Hervé Niquet, Frieder Bernius, Frans Brüggen, and Jean Claude Malgoire.

Ms. Brown has appeared with the world’s most distinguished orchestras, including the London Philharmonic, NHK Symphony Orchestra Tokyo, Orchestre de Paris, Madrid Symphony Orchestra, Florence Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Berliner Symphoniker, Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo, Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Orchestra,, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, and Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, on works ranging from early baroque and classic through to contemporary. These concerts were held in venues such as the Barbican, Royal Albert Hall, Wiener Konzerthaus, Suntory Hall in Tokyo, Musikverein in Vienna, Theatro Municipal (São Paulo), and Salle Pleyel in Paris.

The Canadian composer R. Murray Schafer composed the piece ‘’Gitanjali’’ for Brown’s voice. She performed ‘’Gitanjali’’ with the NAC orchestra for its world premiere at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa in 1992. Ms. Brown subsequently performed it many more times as well as recording it for CBC records. “Brown’s luminous lyric voice had a decisive influence on Schafer’s writing. His music seemed to exult in the clear and buoyant quality of her tone and in her ability to produce bursts of effortless coloratura.” (The Globe and Mail)

Recitals
Recitals of Art Song have always been of importance to Ms. Brown, and she has sung in over two hundred recitals, with pianists including Roger Vignoles, Menahem Pressler, Philippe Cassard, Stephane Lemelin, Jean-Marc Luisada, Maria-João Pires, Michel Dalberto, Paul Badura Skoda, Jean Marc Luisada, Stefan Mendl, Peter Tiefenbach, Bruce Ubukata, Stephen Ralls, Jean Desmarais, Alain Planes, Jane Coop, Francoise Tillard, Cyril Huvé, Olivier Godin, Martin Dubé, Michael McMahon, and many more. She sang recitals with harpists Frédérique Cambreling, Jennifer Swartz, and Judy Loman, and performed in chamber concerts with Vienna Piano Trio, Quatuor Ebene, and Trio Hochelaga.

Many of Ms. Brown’s CD recordings have won prestigious awards (Grammy, Diapason d'Or, Gramophone in 1988 for Scylla et Glaucus ) and she has been filmed for television in Canada, France, England, Germany, Switzerland, and Japan. Ms. Brown was a featured performer at the installation of Adrienne Clarkson as the Governor General of Canada in 1999.

Ms. Brown teaches singers in vocal technique and musicality. She was a visiting professor at the Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea, and at the Schola Cantorum de Venezuela. She has given masterclasses throughout the world and is currently teaching at the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal.

Discography

 * "Bach Mass in F major, Mass in A major" Rilling conductor. 1995. Hänssler 98.924
 * "Berlioz Messe Solennelle" Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique. Gardiner conductor. 2001. Philips 464 688-2
 * "Brahms A German Requiem" Rilling conductor. 1991. Hänssler 98.966
 * "A Journey of Longing" 21 Brahms songs with pianist Jane Coop.2015 Skylark Music Sky1501
 * "Brahms – Liszt – Schubert – Schumann – Wolf – et al Frühlingslieder. " Stéphane Lemelin piano. 1998. Atma ACD 2 2165
 * "Debussy Mélodies de jeunesse" Stéphane Lemelin piano. 2001. Atma ACD 2 2209
 * "Debussy Rodrigue et Chimène. Lyon National Opera Orchestra. Kent Nagano conductor. 1995. Erato 4509-98508-2
 * "Elias, Roddy Acts of Light" 2011
 * "Handel Agrippina. Gardiner conductor" 1997. Philips 438 009-2
 * "Handel Alexander's Feast" Gardiner conductor. 1987. Philips 422-053-2
 * "Handel/Mozart Der Messias" Rilling conductor. 1991. Hänssler 98.975
 * "Handel Saul" Gardiner conductor. 1991. Philips
 * "Haydn Die Schöpfung" English Baroque Soloists. Gardiner conductor. 1997. Archiv 449217
 * "Haydn Nelsonmesse; Theresienmesse" Sir John Eliot Gardiner conductor. 2002. Philips
 * "Leclair Scylla et Glaucus" Gardiner conductor. 1988. Erato 2292-45277-2
 * "Lully Miserere. La Chapelle Royale" Philippe Herreweghe conductor. 1985. Harmonia Mundi La Solothèque HMS 926013
 * "Maria, Margaret. Between Worlds" Helmuth
 * "Mendelssohn, Fanny Lieder & Trio" Françoise Tillard piano. 1992. Opus 111
 * "Mozart Coronation Mass; Exsultate Jubilate" Helmuth Rilling conductor. KV 317. 2001. Hänssler 98.395
 * "Requiem der Versöhnung" Rilling conductor. 1995. Haenssler 98.931
 * "Schafer The Garden of the Heart" National Arts Centre Orchestra, Mario Bernardi conductor. 1997. CBC SMCD-5173
 * "Schubert Mass in A-flat major" Oregon Bach Festival Orchestra. Rilling conductor. 1997. Hänssler 98.120
 * "Verdi Requiem/Quattro Pezzi Sacri" Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique. Gardiner conductor. 1995. Philips 442 142-2
 * "Verdi Don Carlos" Antonio Pappano conductor. 1996 EMI 363.31
 * "Villa-Lobos Bachianas Brasileiras #5" Roberto Minczuk conductor. 2007. BIS

Reviews
Villa-Lobos Bachianas Brasileiras #5, with Donna Brown and Antonio Mesnesis as soloists, was voted by Gramophone Magazine (March 2012) in a comparative critique, as the best recording of Bachianas Bresileiras to date: “Minczuk’s overall vision is compelling, BIS’s sound the finest of all, and the soloists superb.”

“No. 5 with Donna Brown has to be the quintessential performance of this most famous of the Bachianas. She is absolutely liquid from start to finish, and her fortes are never harsh.” (American Record Guide, March 2008)

“In Bachianas No.5, possibly the best known piece of the set, Donna Brown sings her way to first place in my opinion, arrived at by a lot of comparative listening. The clarity of diction and the way she carries the voice are excellent, and the lyrically soulful singing of the agile soprano results in pure delight for the ear.” (Pizzicato, January 2008)

“Donna Brown (à la Bastille) voit le triomphe d’une Pamina radieuse, à la voix toute en lumineuse tendresse et d’une belle intelligence.”   (Paris, Le Figaro 1995)

“Her aria, Ach ich fuhl’s was the gem of the evening; exquisite vocal control and an inner sensitivity to text and musical gesture made for a subtle, moving performance that was never over-stated, yet kept one on the edge of one’s seat.” (Toronto, The Globe and Mail)

“Dans le rôle difficile de Lisa, Donna Brown a fait des étincelles. Elle a su montré d’une aisance étourdissante sur la scène du Théâtre des Champs Elysées.” (Paris, Le Figaro)

Performances

 * Nacht und Traüme-Schubert (Donna Brown, Philippe Cassard)


 * Ach, ich fühl's
 * Handel - Alcina: Tornami a vagheggiar
 * Handel - Alcina. Geneve 1990
 * Fanny Mendelssohn: 6 Lieder, Op. 7: No. 3. Frühling
 * Frühling - Mendelssohn-Hensel (Donna Brown, Stéphane Lemelin)
 * Bachianas brasileiras No. 5: I. Aria (Cantilena) : Adagio
 * Bachianas Brasileiras No.5 Aria, Donna Brown
 * Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 Dansa, Donna Brown
 * Händel: The Messiah KV 572, Part I (1991)
 * Händel: The Messiah KV 572, Parts II & III (1991)
 * My Dearest Dear, by Ivor Novello. Donna Brown, Philippe Cassard
 * "La Coccinelle" Bizet- Donna Brown, Philippe Cassard
 * Shostakovich, Seven Romances, Ophelia's Song - Donna Brown
 * Lamentos - Duo Brazil (Andrew Mah Donna Brown)