Canadian soprano Rayanne Dupuis is very active in the world of contemporary music. Andrew Clements of The Guardian called her premiere of the title role of The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (Barry) with the RTE National Symphony Orchestra (Dublin) “magnificent”. She jumped in late in the rehearsal period to reprise the same role in the German-language premiere of the work at Theater Basel and received wide acclaim for her interpretation. At Theater Basel, she also sang in the world premiere production of Drei Frauen by Wolfgang Rihm. She has sung Das Gehege by Rihm in concert with the Deutsches Symphonie Orchester (under Kent Nagano), as well as with the Helsinki Philharmonic in Finland and with the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican in London. With Seattle Opera (USA) she has sung Schönberg´s Erwartung and was Lavinia in Mourning Becomes Electra (Levy). At l´Opéra de Paris she has covered the title roles in both Strauss´ Salomé and the world premiere of Akhmatova (B. Mantovani). She premiered the title role of Jackie O (Dougherty) in both Canada, and France, and for l´Opéra de Metz was a much-lauded Lulu. She premiered and recorded French composer Bernard Cavanna´s Chants cruels for voice and orchestra, and also played the role of Ikuko in his opera La confession impudique. She created the role of Helen in Red Emma (Kulesha) for the Canadian Opera Company in Toronto. Recently, she sang the world premiere of Giacomo Manzoni´s 6 Canti dal Kokin Shu for voice and live electronics at the MITO Settembre Festival in Milan, and sang the French premiere of Philippe Manoury´s Cruel Spirals for soprano and ensemble. With Circus S, she has recorded Ginastera´s Cantata para América màgica.
The Paris-based singer has been a featured soloist with l'Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal under Kent Nagano, Ensemble Intercontemporain (Paris), Orquestra Sinfonica do Porto Casa da Musica, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale RAI, Orchestre National des Pays de Loire, Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra (Bratislava), National Radio Orchestra of Romania, the Amadinda Percussion Group (Budapest), and has collaborated with Ensembles 2 E 2 M, TM+, and the Diotima String Quartet.
Rayanne Dupuis began her professional career when she joined the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio. In North America she has been a featured soloist with Austin Lyric Opera (USA), Edmonton Opera Association, Opera Ontario and Tapestry Music. In Europe, she has appeared with the opera companies of Nantes, Angers, Montpellier, Massy, Besançon, Reims as well as with the Comédie of Clermont-Ferrand. She has also been a guest of the Musik Triennale Köln, Musica Nova (Helsinki), Musica (Strasbourg) as well as the festivals of Montpellier (France) and Banff.
Her past operatic roles include La voix humaine, The Governess and Miss Jessel (The Turn of the Screw), Frau Fluth (Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor), Tatyana (Eugene Onegin), Marie (Die Soldaten by Manfred Gurlitt), Blanche de la Force (Dialogues of the Carmelites), Trömmler (Der Kaiser von Atlantis), Erste Dame (Die Zauberflöte), Giacinta (La finta semplice), Cathleen (Riders to the Sea) and Marguerite (Jeanne au bûcher).
Upcoming events include concerts with Camerata Variabili (Basel), release of a recording of Das Gehege (DSO, K. Nagano, conductor). A solo recording of songs of Charles Ives, The Side Show, with pianist Antoine Palloc has been released by Soupir Éditions. She has also recorded for the RTE, Innova, Maguelone and Neos labels.
She is currently touring with pianist Guy Livingston and Tears at the Happy Hours: Songs of Willam Bolcom.
"...un authentique art de faire vivre les textes en quelques minutes." - ForumOpera
"Un CD qui mérite le détour pour son originalité foncière." - ON Magazine
"the singers are remarkable in this live recording, with Rayanne Dupuis a genuinely touching Petra..." - BBC Music Magazine
"Rayanne Dupuis was magnificent as Petra..." (Andrew Clements, The Guardian, May 30, 2005)
"...soprano Rayanne Dupuis as Petra, not only supremely accurate and confident in an enormously difficult role, but also as engergetic and driven as the music." (Michael Dungan, Irish Examiner, May 31, 2005)
"...tour de force effort by soprano Rayanne Dupuis." (www.audaud.com, May 10th, 2010)
"Saluons donc l´époustouflante performance vocale de la soprano Rayanne Dupuis qui nous offre ici une prestation quasi surnaturelle." (Jean-Jacques Milo, www.parutions.com, March 1st, 2010)
"...posséde un sens profond du théatre; sur la scène, elle est tragédienne accomplie, sa conviction n´est ni feinte, ni uniquement professionnelle, dans le même temps qu´elle sait maintenir une distance décente avec le scandale (relatif) de son propos. Grâce à son talent et à celui des artisans de ce disque, on peut se faire une idée précise de la musique de Bernard Cavanna." - "Canadian soprano Rayanne Dupuis has a deep understanding of drama. On stage, she is an accomplished actress, her commitment being neither feigned nor purely professional. Nevertheless, she manages to keep the (relatively) scandalous subject matter at a decent distance. Thanks to her talent and to the talent of the creators of this recording, one gets a clear idea of Bernard Cavanna´s music." (Claude Glayman, Opéra International, octobre 2002)
" La voix claire et la diction de la Canadienne Rayanne Dupuis font merveille ici, surtout dans ces moments d’exacerbation où elle domine l’orchestre...." - "Canadian Rayanne Dupuis" clear voice and diction work wonders here, especially in those moment of exacerbation when she dominates the orchestra...." (Jean Vermeil, Répertoire, January 2002)
Video (6'16): "Nun eilt herbei" (Frau Fluth) - Live Performance