CHRISTINE BRANDES (soprano), noted for her radiant, crystalline voice and superb musicianship, brings her committed artistry to a repertoire ranging from 17th century to newly composed works and enjoys an active career in North America and abroad, performing at many of the world's most distinguished festivals and concert series in programs spanning from recitals and chamber music to oratorio and opera. In the 2006-07 season Ms. Brandes' operatic appearances include Cleopatra in Giulio Cesare at Seattle Opera,Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro with the Minnesota Opera, and both Drusilla in L'Incoronazione di Poppea with Harry Bicket and the Sandman in Hänsel und Gretel with Alan Gilbert at the Los Angeles Opera: all opera company debuts. Her distinguished concert calendar brings her together with the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra under Nicholas McGegan for Handel's Apollo e Dafne, the National Symphony Orchestra for Messiah at the Kennedy Center, and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra with Robert Spano for St. John Passion. During the past season, Ms. Brandes performed The Governess in The Turn of the Screw at the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro at the Opera Company of Philadelphia, and the title role of L'Incoronazione di Poppea at Central City Opera. In concert, she appeared with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the New York Philharmonic under the baton of Richard Hickox, the San Francisco Symphony with Martin Haselböck, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra with Nicholas McGegan, Music of the Baroque with Nicholas Kraemer, and with the National Symphony Orchestra and Leonard Slatkin.

Recent symphonic appearances have included concerts with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under the batons of both Pierre Boulez and Esa-Pekka Salonen, performances of John Adams' El Niño with the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, L'Enfant et les Sortilèges with Sir Simon Rattle and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Mozart's Requiem with the Cleveland Orchestra and John Nelson, Mahler's Symphony No. 2 with Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos and Beethoven's Egmont with Wolfgang Sawallisch and the Philadelphia Orchestra, Mozart opera arias and Strauss orchestral songs with the National Symphony Orchestra and Heinz Fricke, Bach Cantatas with the New World Symphony Orchestra, Handel's Messiah with the Toronto Symphony and the Minnesota Orchestra, Carmina Burana with the Houston Symphony, Pergolesi's Stabat Mater with Neeme Järvi and the Detroit Symphony, and Barber's Knoxville: Summer of 1915, and Mahler's Symphony No. 4 with Andreas Delfs and the Milwaukee Symphony. She also has bowed at Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart Festival and at the Ravinia Festival with the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra as well as with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Ensemble Orchestral de Paris, and the Freiburger Barockorchester, among others.

Christine Brandes' operatic career has been highlighted by engagements at Houston Grand Opera, both as Dalinda in Handel's Ariodante with Christopher Hogwood and as Nannetta in Falstaff with Patrick Summers, and by performances at San Diego Opera in Ariodante, Lisbon's Gulbenkian Foundation as Despina in Così fan tutte, Opera Theatre of St. Louis in Cimarosa's The Secret Marriage, Glimmerglass Opera both as Dorinda in Handel's Orlando and in the title role of Acis and Galatea, San Francisco Opera in Semele under the baton of Sir Charles Mackerras, the Opéra de Nancy in Alcina, New York City Opera in Acis and Galatea and Platée, and at the Opera Company of Philadelphia in Die Zauberflöte, L'Elisir d'amore, and Don Giovanni. Additionally, Ms. Brandes has performed Le Nozze di Figaro with New York City Opera, Opera Pacific, and with the opera companies of Philadelphia, Montréal, and Quebec. Christine Brandes has recorded for EMI, BMG/Conifer Classics, Dorian, Harmonia Mundi USA, Virgin Classics, and Koch International.

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