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Biography

Praised for her ‘breathtakingly perfect vocal performance’, the New Zealand mezzo soprano Bianca Andrew has been a member of the Ensemble at Oper Frankfurt since 2019. Following her acclaimed debuts as Sesto in Nadja Loschky’s Giulio Cesare in Egitto and as Aurelia in Brigitte Fassbaender’s Blühen, Frankfurt audiences can hear Bianca in an intimate solo recital, Ages of Woman, with pianist Anne Larlee on the 10th of September.

Bianca Andrew

Originally from Aotearoa New Zealand, Bianca Andrew is a member of the Ensemble at Oper Frankfurt, where she recently made her highly-acclaimed debut as Sesto in Nadja Loschky’s new production of Giulio Cesare in Egitto. Praised for her detailed character portraits and ‘breathtakingly perfect vocal performance’ (Der Opernfreund), Bianca begins the 2024/25 season with a solo recital at Oper Frankfurt together with pianist and friend Anne Larlee. On the operatic stage, she will sing the roles of Garderobière/Gymnasiast/Groom and La Bonté in new productions of Berg’s Lulu and Magnard’s Guercoeur. She also reprises the roles of Adalgisa and The Tsarina in two Christof Loy productions of Norma and Christmas Eve.

Bianca has portrayed many notable mezzo roles on stage at Oper Frankfurt since she joined the prestigious theatre in 2019, including the title roles in La Cenerentola, Xerxes and Hänsel und Gretel, as well as Preziosilla (La forza del Destino), Suzuki (Madama Butterfly), the Page (Salome), Tebaldo (Don Carlos), Mercédès (Carmen) and Enrichetta di Francia (I Puritani). In her first collaboration with the director Brigitte Fassbaender, Bianca created the role of Aurelia in Vito Zuraj’s newly-composed opera Blühen, which was awarded ‘World Premiere of the Year’ by Opernwelt in 2022. She has performed at the Bregenzer Festspiele, appearing as Bernardo in Goldschmidt’s Beatrice Cenci in 2018, and for Garsington Opera in 2019, in the role of Flamel in Offenbach’s Fantasio. Bianca maintains a strong connection with her home country, where she began her operatic career as an Emerging Artist with New Zealand Opera. She returned in 2021 to sing the role of Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro with the company, and in 2018 toured the country with writer Alex Ross (author of The Rest is Noise) in a recital of 20th Century chamber music with STROMA ensemble.

Bianca is an alumna of the New Zealand School of Music in Wellington, where she studied with Margaret Medlyn. She later received a scholarship to study at London’s prestigious Guildhall School of Music & Drama under the tutelage of Yvonne Kenny, where her roles included Händel’s Radamisto and Philomène in Martinu’s Alexandre bis. Bianca was the winner of the Song Prize in the 2016 Kathleen Ferrier Awards in London and in 2021 won the Anny Schlemm Prize in Frankfurt. Throughout her studies and career, Bianca has been generously supported and mentored by Dame Kiri Te Kanawa and the Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation.

Full Biography

Seasons

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Seasons

Liederabend mit Bianca Andrew und Anne Larlee

Sep 10
Ages of Woman
Oper Frankfurt

Garderobière / Gymnasiast / Groom

Nov 3, 7, 9, 15, 17, 23, 29
Lulu / Berg
Oper Frankfurt

The Tsarina

Dec 6, 12, 14, 19, 23, 25
Christmas Eve / Rimsky-Korsakov
Oper Frankfurt

La Bonté

Feb 2, 8, 13, 16, 21, 23
Guercoeur / Magnard
Oper Frankfurt
Mar 1, 8
Guercoeur / Magnard
Oper Frankfurt

Adalgisa

May 3, 9, 11, 15, 17, 23, 31
Norma / Bellini
Oper Frankfurt
Date
Description
Location

Tebaldo

Oct 1
Don Carlo / Verdi
Oper Frankfurt

Alto soloist

Dec 1
Das Weihnachtsoratorium / J.S. Bach
Tiroler Festspiele Erl

The Tsarina

Dec 1
Christmas Eve / Rimsky-Korsakov
Oper Frankfurt

Page

Jan 1
Salome / Strauss
Oper Frankfurt

Sesto

Mar 12, 15, 20, 24, 29
Giulio Cesare in Egitto / Händel
Oper Frankfurt
Apr 6, 11, 14, 20, 27
Giulio Cesare in Egitto / Händel
Oper Frankfurt
May 4, 8, 10, 18
Giulio Cesare in Egitto / Händel
Oper Frankfurt

Ring der Nibelungen

Jul 5, 23
Das Rheingold
Tiroler Festsp. Erl
Jul 6, 24
Die Walküre
Tiroler Festsp. Erl
Date
Description
Location

Press

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“In all the years I’ve been in the theatre…
I’ve rarely witnessed an acting performance like this.”

Brigitte FassbaenderFrankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

“Andrew performs… with her warm, effortless mezzo in an enchantingly tender, down-to-earth manner and with a simple, natural verve.“

Frankfurter RundschauKultur, Theater, Oper

"One of the most vivacious and passionate perfectionists imaginable on the operatic stage."

Judith von SternburgFrankfurter Rundschau

"Bianca Andrew has a voice that touches me extremely...She is technically so brilliant that every forte, every sudden pianissimo is always softly placed on the breath... Everything seems so natural and genuine in feeling. Every note is an embrace."

Natascha Pflaumbaumhr2 Kultur

“Bianca Andrew as Aurelia earned the greatest applause for her technically demanding mezzo role and her outstanding acting performance“

Musik HeuteOnline Magazin

"Bianca Andrew receives the most applause for her portrayal of the young Sesto. Every gesture she makes reflects the adolescent with all his insecurities and fears… She sings her arias with a confidence and lightness that is astonishing."

Main EchoOnline Magazin

"Andrew draws a fascinatingly believable portrait of Sesto… This is crowned by a breathtakingly perfect vocal performance. Her clear, slender mezzo-soprano has warmth in the middle range and shines in the high register."

Der OpernfreundOnline Magazin

“The new discovery of the evening, however, is undoubtedly the mezzo-soprano Bianca Andrew… who not only sang Enrichetta with an expressive, powerful voice, but also lent her an expressive stage presence.“

bachtrack.comOnline Magazin

"Bianca Andrew also makes her role debut as Sesto… Anger, fear, self-doubt and thirst for action find a fitting body of sound in Andrew's emotionally rich and dynamically powerful voice. She catapults herself to the position of audience favourite."

ConcertiOnline Magazin

"Another highlight is Bianca Andrew as Sesto… With a youthfully fresh mezzo-soprano, she hurls out the anger of the young man in breakneck coloratura... Each of her arias can be described as a musical highlight of the evening."

Online Musik MagazinOnline Magazin

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