Lee Abrahmsen
Soprano
Possessing a voice “with a deliciously full-bodied tone, rich in expression and control”, Australian soprano Lee Abrahmsen is a multi-award winning artist both on the operatic stage and concert platform.
Hailing from Geelong and graduating from the University of Melbourne with honours degrees in Music and Education, Lee pursued a period of voice study in Europe with Antonio Moretti-Pananti (Florence), Daniel Ferro Vocal Program and Festival (Tuscany), Bel Canto Festival (Holland) and in Australia at the Lisa Gasteen National Opera School.
Her many Australian Awards include the 86th Herald Sun Aria, the 2013 MOST Opera Awards Royal Over-Seas League Prize, the 2014 MOST Opera Awards 4MBS Performance Prize, the 2013 Acclaim Awards Italian Fellowship Award, the 2012 Melbourne Welsh Male Choir Singer of the Year Competition and the Austral Salon National Scholarship. In 2012 Lee was nominated for a Green Room Award for her performance as Valencienne in Lehar’s Merry Widow for Melbourne Opera. Lee has been heard regularly in performances recorded by ABC Classic FM and appears on Qantas In-Flight Entertainment singing Richard Strauss Four Last Songs with Omega Ensemble.
Lee has appeared as principal artist with all major Opera Companies in Victoria. Roles include: Elisabeth in Tannhäuser, Konstanze in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Marguerite in Faust, CioCioSan in Madama Butterfly, Mimi in La Bohème, Micaëla in Carmen, Elvira in I Puritani, Adele in Die Fledermaus, Suor Infermiera in Suor Angelica, Valencienne in The Merry Widow and Leila in The Pearl Fishers all for Melbourne Opera. Other roles include Violetta in La Traviata (CoOpera), Title role in Stella by Marshall-Hall (Lyric Opera of Melbourne), Clotilde in Norma (Victorian Opera), Lisa in La Sonnambula (Bel Canto Festival in Holland), Fifth Maid in Elektra (Sydney Symphony) and Olympia in Erwin und Elmire (Iopera).
Recent Concert engagements in Australia include: Richard Strauss Four Last Songs (Chamber version by James Ledger) with Omega Ensemble at City Recital Hall, Richard Strauss’ Elektra singing Fifth Maid with Sydney Symphony at the Sydney Opera House; Mahler’s Fourth Symphony (chamber version by Klaus Simon) with Omega Ensemble at City Recital Hall, Richard Strauss Vier Letzte Lieder with Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Bellini’s Norma singing Clotilde with Victorian Opera and Berlioz Les Nuits D’ètè with Melbourne Sinfonia.
Concert engagements overseas include: Recitals at St Martin in the Fields (London), recitals for the Edinburgh International Festival (Scotland), a recital tour spanning numerous cities in China and a recital in Tokyo, Japan for the International Double Reed Society Conference.
Lee’s previous concert and oratorio engagements include Bach’s St John Passion; Berlioz’ Les Nuits D’ètè; Dvorák’s Requiem and Mass in D Minor; Fauré’s Requiem; Handel’s Messiah; Haydn’s Nelson Mass, Paukenmesse and The Creation; Mark Isaac’s Chamber Symphony; Mendelssohn’s Elijah; Mozart’s Exultate, Jubilate!, Coronation Mass, Sparrow Mass and Requiem; Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle; Saint-Saëns’ Requiem; Schubert’s Salve Regina; Paul Stanhope’s Songs of the Shadowland; Verdi’s Four Sacred Pieces; Vivaldi’s Gloria.
In 2017, Lee makes her company debut with Opera Australia in Le Nozze di Figaro singing the Countess, appears in recital with Omega Ensemble at City Recital Hall and sings Puccini’s Tosca with the Australian Discovery Orchestra.