Elsa Benoit
Elsa Benoit is a French singer whose versatile repertoire, ranging from baroque to modern, is in demand and acclaimed worldwide. She graduated from the Amsterdam Conservatory with a Bachelor of Music and perfected her training from 2011 to 2013 at the Dutch National Opera Academy, where she obtained her Master’s degree in Opera with distinction. In November 2012, she was honored with three prizes at the international singing competition “Symphonies d’Automne” and in March 2013 she won the Brane-Cantenac Prize at the international singing competition MACM.
From 2015 to 2016, Benoit was a member of the ensemble at the Stadttheater in Klagenfurt, where she enjoyed great success in roles such as Tytania in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Giulietta in Bellini’s I Capuleti e i Montecchi, Micaëla in Carmen (for which she received the Austrian Music Theater Prize) and Despina in Così fan tutte. She then joined the permanent ensemble of the Bavarian State Opera, where she performed a variety of roles, including the Shepherd in Tannhäuser, Oscar in Un Ballo in Maschera, Frasquita in Carmen, Najade in Ariadne auf Naxos, Adina in L’Elisir d’Amore, Gretel in Hänsel und Gretel, Musetta in La Bohème, Zerlina in Don Giovanni, Emilie in Rameau’s Les Indes galantes and Poppea in Handel’s Agrippina. She recorded the latter role for Warner Classics in 2019 and the recording was nominated for a Grammy for “Best Opera Recording”.
Benoit has been freelancing since 2021. Her recent performances include roles in Philippe Hersant’s Les Eclairs at the Ópera Comique in Paris, Handel’s Alcina (Morgana) at the Palais Garnier in Paris, Carmen (Micaela) in Toulouse, The Rake’s Progress (Anne Trulove) in Rennes and Nantes, Handel’s Agrippina (Poppea) in Munich, Handel’s Semele (Semele) in Lille and Berlin (Komische Oper) and Poulenc’s Les Mamelles de Tirésias (Thérèse) at the Glyndebourne Festival. Last season, she appeared on stage in Massenet’s Werther (Sophie) in a new production by Robert Carsen under Thomas Hengelbrock and in the title role of Poppea in Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea in a new production by American director Ted Huffman under the direction of George Petrou at the Cologne Opera.
In the 2024/25 season, the soprano will appear in three important roles for the first time: as Susanna in Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro at the Semperoper Dresden, as Sophie in Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier in Tokyo under Jonathan Nott and as Pamina in Mozart’s The Magic Flute at the opera houses in Rennes, Nantes and Angers.
Elsa Benoit is also in great demand as a concert singer. Highlights of recent seasons have included performances with the Berliner Philharmoniker in Mahler’s 4th Symphony under Robin Ticciati and in Honegger’s dramatic oratorio Jeanne d’Arc au bûcher under Alan Gilbert in Berlin, as well as Handel’s Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno (Bellezza) under Emmanuelle Haïm. She also appeared in Mendelssohn’s Lobgesang Symphony under Andris Nelsons with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and at the Salzburg Festival under Herbert Blomstedt with the Vienna Philharmonic. Further appearances included Fauré’s Requiem under Andrew Manze with the Munich Philharmonic, Haydn’s Seasons under Hans-Christoph Rademann in Stuttgart and Brahms’ Requiem under Manfred Honeck.
Major concerts are scheduled for the 2024/25 season, including Bruckner’s Mass in F minor with the Orchestra La Scintilla in Zurich, Brahms’ Requiem with the RSB Berlin under Vladimir Jurowski, Poulenc’s Gloria with the Orchestre de Paris under Klaus Mäkelä and Handel’s Il Trionfo with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Emmanuelle Haïm.