Nominated as one of CBC’s 30 hot classical musicians under 30, Elisabeth Boudreault is praised for « her vocal assurance, which is already that of a first-rate singer » and her «vibrant middle, supple and frank articulation and iridescent high notes » (Olyrix).

Laureate of the Vienna International Competition and of the Wirth Vocal Prize, Elisabeth Boudreault studied under the tutelage of Aline Kutan at McGill University in Montreal.

Four-time winner of the Canadian Music Competition, she made her opera debut at the age of 16 as Lisa (La Sonnambula). Quickly established on the national scene, she is then seen in roles such as Sophie (Werther) and Grande Sacerdotessa (Aida) at the Opéra du Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, Miss Silberklang (Der Schauspieldirektor) at the Opéra de Québec, Flora (The Turn of the Screw) at the Opéra de Montréal, Frasquita (Carmen) at the Société d’Art lyrique du Royaume, Die Königin der Nacht (Die Zauberflöte) with Opera NUOVA and Soeur Constance (Dialogues des Carmélites), Servilia (La Clemenza di Tito), Pamina (Die Zauberflöte) and Emmie (Albert Herring) at McGill Opera in Montreal.

She is making an exciting entrance on the European scene, in France in particular, where she sang Barbarina (Le Nozze di Figaro) at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence in a new production by Lotte de Beer and under the direction of Thomas Hengelbrock. Recently, she performed Gretel (Hänsel und Gretel) and Papagena (Die Zauberflöte) at the Opéra National du Rhin, Barbarina (Le Nozze di Figaro) and Oberto (Alcina) at the Opéra National de Lorraine and participated to Nuit funèbre staged by Katie Mitchell in Lyon, Grenoble and Clermont-Ferrand. She also reprised the role of Barbarina at the Théâtre de la Ville de Luxembourg. She also made her debut at the Opéra de Rouen as Pamina (Die Zauberflöte) and at the Opéra Comique as Miss Ellen (Lakmé). On these occasions, she collaborates with Mako Letonja, Andreas Spering, Leonardo Garcia Alarcon, Jérémie Rohrer, Ben Glassberg and Raphaël Pichon.

In concert, she performed, among others, in the Netherlands as part of the Grachtenfestival, in Slovakia with the Košice Philharmonic Orchestra for the Mass in C (Beethoven) and in Japan where she gave a recital tour. She has also been seen in Montreal singing Gérard Grisey’s Quatres chants pour franchir le seuil under Guillaume Bourgogne.

Fervent defender of contemporary music, she notably participated in the creation of the role of Léa in L’Hiver attend beaucoup de moi by Laurence Jobidon (Musique 3 Femmes), Tapestry Opera’s Songbook IX and the American premiere of Miguel Azguime’s Th(S)inking Survival Kit with the McGill Contemporary Ensemble. In 2017, Boudreault sang the lead role in James Garner’s East o’ the Sun, West o’ the Moon for its North American premiere – performance that led to a new collaboration with the British composer who is writing the role of Hero in his opera Much Ado! especially for her voice.

Among her future projects, she will perform at the Glyndebourne Festival as Frasquita (Carmen) and she will sing several concerts in Germany conducted by Andreas Spering.

April 2023

^{This biography should not be edited without permission from Intermezzo.}

Photo credits : © Edmond Choo