Sarah Dufresne
Canadian soprano Sarah Dufresne was a member of the Jette Parker Artists Programme at the Royal Opera House in London from 2022–2024. She was also an Associate Artist with The Mozartists for the 2023–2024 season.
In the 2024/25 season, she made her BBC Proms and Edinburgh Festival debuts as Suor Genovieffa (Suor Angelica), where she will return to work with Sir Antonio Pappano following their collaboration earlier in the season in La rondine, in which she sang the role of Yvette. At the start of the season, Sarah sang the role of Ophélie (Hamlet) at the Opéra de Montréal, made her debut at the Bayerische Staatsoper as Semele (Die Liebe der Danae), and debuted the role of Gilda (Rigoletto) with Pacific Opera Victoria.
Engagements for 2025/26 include Gilda (Rigoletto) at the Canadian Opera Company (house debut) and with Vancouver Opera, Lisa (La sonnambula) at the Tiroler Festspiele Erl, and a return to the Royal Opera House as the Woodbird (Siegfried). She will also make her Teatro alla Scala debut as Frasquita (Carmen). On the concert stage, she will reunite with conductor Nicolas Ellis for performances with Les Violons du Roy.
In 2022, Sarah was awarded Second Prize (Aria Division) at the Concours Musical International de Montréal, where she was praised for her “tremendous dramatic presence” and “astonishing clarity and vocal dexterity” (Opera Canada). She was also awarded a prestigious Sylva Gelber Foundation grant for Canadian musicians and was named one of Canada’s “Top 30 Classical Musicians Under 30.”
Recent performances include the High Priestess (Aida) with the Orchestre Métropolitain under Yannick Nézet‑Séguin, her debut with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra conducted by Rafael Payare in Carmina Burana, and Nora in Vaughan Williams’ Riders to the Sea at the Opéra de Montréal.
At the Royal Opera House in London, her roles include Voce dal Cielo (Don Carlo), Barbarina (Le nozze di Figaro), Papagena (Die Zauberflöte), Gianetta (L’elisir d’amore), Frasquita (Carmen), and The Dew Fairy (Hansel and Gretel). She has also performed with companies and orchestras across Canada, including Orchestre de l’Agora, Ottawa Choral Society, and the Orchestre Métropolitain.
