BBC Cardiff Singer of the World 2017 Preview: England Representative Louise Alder To Showcase Experience & Lyric Soprano & Experience
By David Salazar“Louise Alder… turns in an incandescent, richly colored and urgent performance, which confirms her as the brightest lyric soprano of the younger generation…” So said the Arts Desk about the 30-year-old soprano, another major contestant in the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition. Here is a look at who she is and what we can expect from her big performance in a little under a month.
Bio: Alder was born in London and went on to study at the University of Edinburgh and Royal College of Music. At Edinburgh, she studied with Patricia MacMahon and graduated with First Class Honors. At the Royal College of Music, she was an inaugural Kiri te Kanawa scholar. She currently studies with Dinah Harris.
Major Roles and Performances: Alder happens to be among the most experienced contestants this year as she has been a regular with Opera Frankfurt where she has performed leading roles in such operas as “Le Nozze di Figaro,” “Der Rosenkavalier,” “Giulio Cesare in Egitto,” “Hänsel und Gretel,” and “Rigoletto.”
She made her Royal Opera House debut in 2015 and will debut with the Teatro Real Madrid, Philharmonia Orchestra, Welsh National Opera, and BBC Philharmonic among others. She has also been showcased at the Glyndebourne Festival Opera.
Also worthy of note is the extensive recording output the soprano is accumulating. She appears on Oper Frankfurt’s CD recording of “L’Orontea” and the Glyndebourne Festival Opera’s DVD of “The Rape of Lucretia.” She has another five projects in the works including a debut recital album, complete song cycles of Hugo Wolf, and recordings of operas, including Oper Frankfurt’s “Xerxes,” which will be released on DVD.
Here’s a look at her artistry in an aria from “Don Pasquale:”