OPERA MAGAZINE 2023
“Wake-Edwards is clearly a singer of exceptional skill and sensitivity…her control of line and beauty of tone were remarkable”
SEMELE - GLYNDEBOURNE
Stephanie Wake-Edwards is a London-born mezzo-soprano. She came to international attention when in 2018 Marc Minkowski awarded her a special recital in his Concours Bordeaux Médoc Lyrique, the following year joining the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden Jette Parker Young Artist Programme.
A highlight of her time at Covent Garden was her performances as Anna on the main stage filmed production of Kurt Weill’s The Seven Deadly Sins in 2021 which prompted Fiona Maddocks to write in the Guardian; “The binding force was the talented mezzo-soprano Stephanie Wake-Edwards, who showed artistic courage and verve” while her Flora in Verdi La traviata also garnered high praise “Stephanie Wake-Edwards rather shone as Flora, a glint and a flash in her eyes that mirrored the confidence of her singing".
Recent and future opera highlights include revisiting Kurt Weill’s The Seven Deadly Sins, at the Teatro Colón Buenos Aires; Ino in a new production of Handel Semele for Glyndebourne Festival; Jessica in Ben Comeau’s one woman show FEAST for piano and ensemble at Wilton’s Music Hall, London; a return to Garsington Opera as Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Polina in Queen of Spades and debuts at the Bayerische Staatsoper Munich as Third Nymph in Rusalka and English National Opera as Third Lady in The Magic Flute.
In August 2024 Stephanie joins the Ensemble of the Deutsche Oper Berlin with roles including: Marchesa Melibea Il viaggio a Reims, Maddalena Rigoletto, Mary Der fliegende Holländer, Dritte Dame Die Zauberflöte, Prince Orlofsky Die Fledermaus and Cornelia Giulio Cesare.
Stephanie’s wide concert repertoire ranges from Vivaldi Stabat Mater with Fabio Biondi and Messiah with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and Gustavo Gimeno, to Mahler Symphony No. 2 with Semyon Bychkov in London.
She has given recitals at Wigmore Hall and Oxford Lieder Festival as well as at the Opéra National de Bordeaux and recently recorded a CD of Fanny Hensel Lieder at the Mendelssohn house in Leipzig, released in 2023 on First Hand Records, including some works recorded for the first time.
Stephanie Wake-Edwards graduated from the University of York with a BA in Sociology with Social Psychology followed by a Masters Degree in Vocal Studies at the Royal Academy of Music with Alex Ashworth. She is an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music and represented England in the 2021 Cardiff Singer of the World Competition.
23/24 Season
This biography should not be edited without permission from Maxine Robertson Management.