Anna Dennis Soprano

Described by the Times as a “delectable soprano and a serene, ever-sentient presence”, Anna Dennis studied at the Royal Academy of Music with Noelle Barker. Notable concert performances have included Britten’s War Requiem at the Berlin Philharmonie, a programme of Russian operatic arias with Philharmonia Baroque in San Francisco, Thomas Adès’ Life Story accompanied by the composer at the Lincoln Centre’s White Light Festival in New York, Orff’s Carmina Burana with the Orquestra Gulbenkian in Lisbon, Bach’s Christmas Oratorio with the Australian Chamber Orchestra in Sydney Opera House and with Concerto Copenhagen in Amsterdam, and Haydn’s Schöpfung with Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa in Japan. Her BBC Proms appearances include performances with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Britten Sinfonia and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.

Recent operatic roles have included the title role in Tom Coult’s Violet (Britten Pears Arts / London Sinfonietta), Florinda/Handel’s Rodrigo (with Laurence Cummings, Göttingen Händel Festspiele), Lucy Schmeeler & Claire/Bernstein’s On The Town (Hyogo Performing Arts Japan), Paride/Gluck’s Paride ed Elena (Nuremberg Opera House), Katherine Dee/Damon Albarn’s Dr Dee (English National Opera), Emira/Handel’s Siroe (with Laurence Cummings, Göttingen Händel Festspiele), Bersi/Andrea Chenier (Opera North), Ilia/Mozart’s Idomeneo directed by Graham Vick (Birmingham Opera Company), Pamina/The Magic Flute (Lichfield Festival) and Strawberry Seller & Strolling Player/Britten’s Death in Venice (La Scala, Milan). This season she sings Purcell Fairy Queen at Drottningholms Slottsteater conducted by Franceso Corti, and in Purcell “Masque of Night” at Opera North conducted by Harry Bicket and directed by David Pountney.

A keen interpreter of contemporary music, Anna has created roles in premieres of Francisco Coll’s Café Kafka (Royal Opera House/Opera North/Aldeburgh), Jonathan Dove’s The Walk From The Garden (Salisbury Festival) and The Enchanted Pig (Young Vic), Edward Rushton’s The Shops (Bregenz Festspiele/Royal Opera House), Will Tuckett’s Pleasure’s Progress (Royal Opera House), and Yannis Kyriakides’ An Ocean of Rain (Aldeburgh Festival/Amsterdam Muziekgebouw).

Recent concert performances have included concerts with the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, Messiah with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra / Maxim Emelyanychev, Die Jahreszeiten with Düsseldorfer Symphoniker conducted by Adam Fischer, Early Opera Company conducted by Christian Curnyn at Wigmore Hall, major roles in all three Monteverdi operas with John Eliot Gardiner, Schoenberg’s 2nd String Quartet at the Auditorio de Tenerife, Bach’s Christmas Oratorio with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment under Masaaki Suzuki, Queen of the Night/The Magic Flute with Clarion Music Society in New York City, Bach Easter Oratorio with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and Jonathan Cohen, and Messiah with Paul McCreesh and the Casa da Música Baroque Orchestra and Choir.

Her recordings include the premiere recording of Mårten Jansson’s Requiem Novum, the 2021 Grammy-nominated album of Kastalsky’s Requiem for Fallen Brothers, Purcell’s King Arthur with the Gabrieli Consort and Players, Rameau’s Anacreon of 1754 with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Monteverdi’s Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria with John Eliot Gardiner and the English Baroque Soloists, three Handel works Siroe, Rodrigo and Joshua with Laurence Cummings and Festspiel Orchester Göttingen, Landscape with Three People a recital of Russian composer Elena Langer’s chamber works, and Sweeter than Roses, a Purcell recital with Julian Perkins.

Anna is the recipient of the Royal Philharmonic Society’s best singer award for 2023.