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Lyric soprano, Madeleine Pierard excels in adventurous repertoire and is noted for her outstanding vocal dexterity. A native New Zealander, she studied in London at the Royal College of Music and the National Opera Studio, garnering numerous awards including the Lexus Song Quest, Lies Askonas and Royal Overseas League prizes, and was a Jette Parker Young Artist with The Royal Opera, Covent Garden. She studies with Yvonne Kenny.
For The Royal Opera, Madeleine has sung the roles of Contessa di Folleville (Il Viaggio a Reims), Musetta (La Boheme - London/Istanbul), Lisa (La Sonnambula), Berta (ll Barbiere di Siviglia), Sandmann (Hänsel und Gretel), Sacerdotessa (Aida), Noémie (Cendrillon), Wood Nymph (Rusalka) and Costanza in Haydn’s L’isola disabitata in Hobart, Tasmania. Also for The Royal Opera she has covered the roles of Violetta, Donna Anna, Marfa (The Tsar’s Bride), Elettra (Idomeneo) and Leila (Les Pêcheurs de Perles). She featured in the BBC's landmark television series 'Maestro at the Opera' in association with The Royal Opera House, singing the roles of Rosalinde, Donna Anna and Musetta. Other roles include Violetta, Pat Nixon (Nixon in China) and Musetta with New Zealand Opera; Anne Trulove (The Rake’s Progress) and Marzelline (Fidelio) with the Auckland Philharmonic Orchestra, Musetta in Francesca Zambello’s La Boheme at the Royal Albert Hall, Louise (Louise), Elettra (Idomeneo) and Cecilio (Lucio Silla) for The Buxton Festival, Female Chorus (The Rape of Lucretia) under Muhai Tang and the Tianjin Symphony Orchestra in China, Woman (Erwartung) with Shadwell Opera and the title role of Régine in Rufus Wainwright’s Prima Donna.
Madeleine's recent concert appearances as a soloist include Beethoven's 9th Symphony and Poulenc's Stabat Mater with the London Philharmonia at the Royal Festival Hall, numerous appearances and recordings with the NZ Symphony Orchestra including Haydn's Creation under Nicholas McGegan, an opera gala with L’Orchestre Symphonique de Bretagne in Brittany, France, Ross Harris’ Symphony No. 2 with the Orchestre Symphonique de Strasbourg, NZSO and APO and Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire with Stroma. She has also featured as a soloist with the Royal Ballet in Fauré’s Requiem and Poulenc’s Gloria, as well as soloist in Carmina Burana with the Birmingham Royal Ballet at The London Coliseum. A noted recitalist, she has appeared alongside Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, and at the Wigmore and Cadogan Halls and has toured New Zealand in recital. Madeleine has also sung numerous recitals at The Royal Opera House, both as a Jette Parker Young Artist and Alumnus.
Appearances in the 2018/2019 season included the covering the title role of Kát'a (Kát'a Kabanová) at The Royal Opera, a tour of Beethoven's 9th Symphony with the NZSO under Edo de Waart and Handel's Messiah with Nicholas McGegan, Beethoven's 9th Symphony at The Barbican in London, and singing Lady Macbeth (Macbeth) for English Touring Opera. In the 2019/2020 season, Madeleine sings the role of Miss Jessel in The Turn of the Screw with NZ Opera, and in a series of classical concerts at The Royal Albert Hall. Watch this space for more season announcements!