Irish soprano Anna Devin is widely admired for her “vocal control, artistry and musico-dramatic intelligence” (Opera News) and has gained recognition across the world for her work in the Baroque and Classical Repertoire, in particular her interpretation of Handel’s Heroines.
This upcoming season Anna will return to the Irish National Opera in the role of Héro in Beatrice et Benedict. Her concert work will bring her back to perform Dona Nobis Pacem by Vaughan Williams with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and Haydn’s The Creation with National Symphony Orchestra Dublin. With her current focus shifting to the concert platform she will debut with the Liverpool Phiharmonic for Handel’s Messiah, the London Philharmonic Orchestra for Haydn’s Missa in Tempore Belli, conducted by Vladimir Jurowski, the Oxford Phil with Bachs’ B Minor Mass, Opera North for New Years Galas, and she will present a concert performance at the Academy of Ancient Music called the Italian Legacies: Geminiani & his English contemporaries. She will continue to explore her song repertoire and collaborate again with Fiachra Garvey at his West Wicklow Chamber Music Festival.
Last season Anna appeared at the Royal Opera House in the role of Gretel in Hansel and Gretel, followed by her house and role debut at the English National Opera as Rosina in Il Barbiere di Seviglia. She also made her staging debut as Cleopatra in Handel’s Guilio Cesare a role she has received critical praise for ‘one of the finest London has heard’ (Opera Magazine). She travelled to Rheinsberg for her debut as Belinda in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas and Venus in Blow’s Venus and Adonis, conducted by Christian Curnyn with Opera Collective Ireland. Anna performed with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Barcelona y Nacional de Cataluña in Barcelona in a world premier by Josep Maria Guix, toured Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater with Irish Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Christian Curnyn, and appear at the Winter Chamber Music Festival with the Fidelio Trio in Dublin.
In the 2022/2023 season Anna debuted as Fiordiligi in Cosi fan Tutte with the Irish National Opera. Her concert work included Carmina Burana with NSO Ireland, Messiah with Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, her concert debut with Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment on a tour of B Minor Mass, her debut with the CBSO for New Years Galas and chamber music festivals in Ireland. In 2021-22, Anna started the season off with a last minute jump in to debut the title role in Handel’s Rodelinda with the Moscow Philharmonic, conducted by Christopher Moulds. She made her debut at Opera National de Lyon in Deborah Warner’s production of Messiah. She finished the season with a debut of Elisabetta in Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda which saw Devin move into new depths vocally and receive praise for her spiteful queen.
In recent years, Anna Devin’s other successes have included Melissa in Amadigi with Garsington Opera; Almirena in Rinaldo with Glyndebourne on tour and Michal in Saul in Glyndebourne and Paris Théâtre du Châtelet; Title role Calisto in David Alden’s iconic production and Celia in Lucio Silla in Madrid under Ivor Bolton; the title role of Semele with the Karlsruhe-Festspiele; Rosanne in Vivaldi’s La Vérita in Cimento, conducted by Octavio Dantone and a concert of Zelenka Arias, directed by Riccardo Minasi at Opernhaus Zürich; Tusnelda in Arminio at the International Handel Festival in Göttingen and Cleopatra in Giulio Cesare for the Early Opera Company and Kilkenny Arts Festival. She has sung Galatea in Acis and Galatea for Mozartwoche Salzburg; Nannetta in Falstaff and Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi for Covent Garden; Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro for Welsh National Opera, Glyndebourne Tour and Scottish Opera; Sophie in Werther and Zerlina in Don Giovanni for Scottish Opera; la bergère Louis XV and la chauve-souris in L'enfant et les sortilèges for La Scala; Poppea in Agrippina for Opera Collective, Ireland; and Clotilde in Faramondo for Brisbane Baroque, which earned her the Best Supporting Singer in an Opera at the 2015 Helpmann Awards, Australia. Other roles have included Governess in Turn of the Screw, la Comtesse Adèle in Le Comte Ory, Marie in La fille du Régiment, Morgana in Alcina, and Ilia in Idomeneo.
Along with her love of opera, Anna’s concert career has seen her travel world wide, and most recently she has given time to developing her chamber music and recital programmes. Last season she appeared at West Cork Chamber Music Festival, Boyne Music Festival, Westport Festival of Chamber Music and collaborated with Julius Drake on a recital based on Irish Poetry. Next season she will return to West Cork Chamber Music festival to join with Julius again and her collaborations will continue later in the year with fellow Irish pianist Fiachra Garvey.
Anna’s concert career has seen her appear at the London Handel, Göttingen Handel, Lausanne Bach, Brighton Early Music and Belfast festivals, the BBC Proms and Carnegie Hall. She has worked with the Vienna Philharmonic, Hallé, Les Musiciens du Louvre, RTÉ NSO, Royal Northern Sinfonia, Halle, Irish Chamber Orchestra, Ulster and Minnesota orchestras and Houston, Charlotte and Seattle symphonies, among others. Over her career she has worked with many conductors including Sir William Christie, Laurence Cummings, Christian Curnyn, Ottavio Dantone, Ivor Bolton, Sir Colin Davis, Yannick Nézet, Sir Mark Elder, Mark Wigglesworth and Sir Antonio Pappano.
Anna Devin’s recordings include La Bohème for Signum with Irish Nationa Opera, Arminio and Faramondo for Accent from the International Händel Festspiele Gottingen; Mozart in London, Il re Pastore and Mitridate, Re di Ponto with Classical Opera for Signum Classics; and ‘Arias for Benucci’ with Arcangelo for Hyperion.
An alumna of the Royal Opera House’s Jette Parker Young Artist programme, the Royal Irish Academy of Music, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and the National Opera Studio. Anna is passionate about nurturing new talent, she has given masterclasses and coaching at the Royal Academy Opera Course, London and at her Alma mater Royal Irish Academy of Music, Dublin. Along with this she continues to teach from her home studio and online.
In addition to her work on stage, Ms Devin is proud to be an Ambassador for the British Dyslexia Association. She has always been open with the public through the media and events about growing up with dyslexia, saying: “Being different is not a bad thing. Not fitting in with the crowd is a blessing as we all have our own journey, and being forced to find your own path brings originality.”
Photo credits: Victoria Cadisch
