SOPRANO
BIOGRAPHY
Soprano Esther Shea is studying for her Master of Music at the Royal Northern College of Music where she studies under the tutelage of Elizabeth Ritchie. She has been awarded the Dame Eva Turner Award and her studies are generously supported by the LHR Foundation. In 2024, she completed her undergraduate studies at the RNCM with Jane Irwin where she graduated with a First Class Honours Degree.
This April she will perform the role of Mrs Coyle in Britten’s Owen Wingrave (RNCM Opera). Her recent operatic highlights include Youka in Chabrier’s L’étoile (RNCM Opera) and Dido in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas (Bedfordshire Youth Opera) both of which received high praise. Additionally, she has brought to life a range of operatic characters in opera scene performances including La Contessa in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro, Sandrina in Mozart’s La finta giardiniera and Don Ettore in Haydn’s La canterina. Esther has also performed as part of the opera chorus in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro (RNCM Opera) and Kurt Weill’s Down in the valley (Bedfordshire Youth Opera).
As a concert soloist, she has performed in major works including Mozart’s C Minor Mass, Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 2, Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem. She is set to perform Bach’s B Minor Mass in May, an exciting addition to her growing repertoire of choral and orchestral works.
During her time at the RNCM, she has competed as a finalist in the Frederic Cox Award and has received high commendations in the Elsie Thurston Competition, the James Oncken Song Prize and the Alexander Young Prize. In autumn 2023, she was selected to join the prestigious RNCM Songsters, an ensemble of the most accomplished singers and collaborative pianists at the conservatoire. Through this platform, she has had the opportunity to perform in a variety of engagements throughout the year, refining her interpretation of art song.
Esther grew up in Jersey in the Channel Islands where she began vocal lessons with Jane Highfield before studying voice and piano at Chetham’s School of Music for sixth form. Performance highlights during her time there include Mahler’s Eighth Symphony at The Bridgewater Hall and Bach’s Saint Matthew Passion with English Touring Opera. Upon completing her studies, she was awarded The Drane Prize for Vocal Music.
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Opera* = Extracts Mrs Coyle - Owen Wingrave, Britten Dido - Dido and Aeneas, Purcell Youka - L'ètoile, Chabrier Countess Almaviva - Le nozze di Figaro, Mozart * Sandrina - La finta giardiniera, Mozart * Don Ettore - La Canterina, Haydn *
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OratorioBrahms Ein deutsches Requiem Mozart C Minor Mass - Soprano I Mendelssohn Symphony No. 2 - Soprano I Bach B Minor Mass - Soprano II