Musicians

Rachelle Durkin, soprano

Australian Soprano Rachelle Durkin joined the Metropolitan Opera Lindemann Young Artist Development Program after being selected as winner of the 2001 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. She made her Metropolitan Opera debut as First Handmaiden in Sly and has subsequently appeared there as Young Girl and Naked Virgin in Moses und Aron, Barena in Jenufa, Masha in Pique Dame, (Teresa) in Benvenuto Cellini, (Konstanze) in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, (Elvira) in L’Italiana in Algeri, and First Flower Maiden in Parsifal, a role she also performed at the Salzburg Festival as part of the MET tour under the baton of Maestro James Levine.

Previous engagements for Ms. Durkin have also included Donna Anna in Opera Queensland’s production of Don Giovanni, Blondchen in West Australian Opera’s production of Die Entführung aus dem Serail, and a Gala Concert in Perth entitled Opera Under the Stars with tenor Jose Carreras. Upcoming engagements for Ms. Durkin include Armida in Rinaldo in Sydney, Australia, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni with the Lyric Opera of San Antonio, her Carnegie Hall debut as the Soprano soloist in Handel’s Messiah as well as Konstanze in Die Entführung aus dem Serail with Camerata NY. Most recently, she performed Corinna in Chicago Opera Theatre’s production of Il Viaggio a Reims and returned from a very successful performance as Countess Almaviva in Opera Australia’s production of Le nozze di Figaro.

Ms. Durkin is also a quite distinguished oratorio artist, with repertoire ranging from the early works of Handel, Back, Mozart, and Beethoven to the more recent works of Bernstein, Gershwin, and Sondheim. She has appeared with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the New Choral Society of Central Westchester, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, the Baroque Consort, the Perth Pops Orchestra, as well as the Philharmonic Orchestra of Western Australia.

Ms. Durkin’s recordings include recitals for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in their “Sunday Live” and “Young Australia” programs, including a live-to-air national broadcast of Menotti’s radio play, The Old Maid and the Thief. She has also been heard in the Metropolitan Opera Broadcasts, in ABC Radio National Broadcasts with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and in Lieder Recitals, and has appeared twice on A&E’s “Breakfast with the Arts.”

Ms. Durkin is the recipient of the three prestigious awards in Australia, namely the Herald-Sun Aria Competition, the Marianne Mathy Competition, and the Metropolitan Opera Regional Competition. She was also a finalist in Placido Domingo’s Operalia World Opera Contest in 2001. Ms. Durkin currently resides in New York City.

Back to Musicians...