Praised for her “full-bodied, sparkling tone” (Cleveland Classical), Chicago-born lyric soprano Olivia Boen is increasingly in demand both on the operatic stage and in the recital hall. In the 2022-23 season, she will make her role debuts as Musetta and Gretel at the Hamburg Staatsoper, where she will be joining the International Opera Studio, where she will be joining the International Opera Studio, and makes her debut with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Sir Andrew Davis, singing Beethoven’s concert aria ‘Ah, Perfido!’ in June.

In January 2022, Olivia performed her first Vier Letzte Lieder in the Barbican with Dominic Wheeler conducting the London Schools Symphony Orchestra. Earlier in the season, she opened Robin Trischtler and Roger Vignoles’ recitals in the 2021 Oxford Lieder Festival as an emerging artist with pianist Dylan Perez and is looking forward to returning to the Festival for four recitals with founder Sholto Kynoch in May. She was a finalist in the 2021 Guildhall Gold Medal Prize hosted by the Barbican where she sang a diverse programme of songs by Messiaen, Marx, Maconchy, and Rachmaninov, and arias from Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci, Strauss’ Daphne, and Floyd’s Susannah. Olivia is a current member of the Wigmore Hall French Song Exchange led by Dame Felicity Lott and François le Roux and was selected as a 2021 City Music Foundation Artist.

Programme

Beethoven –“Ah, Perfido!”
Berg – Sieben Frühe Lieder
Libby Larsen – Perineo
Brad Mehldau – I love the dark hours of my being
H. Leslie Adams – The Wider View
Errollyn Wallen – About Here

Performers

Olivia Boen Soprano
Michael Sikich Piano

This Friday Lunchtime Concert is programmed in partnership with City Music Foundation and includes their exceptional young artists.