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The Australian soprano, Lesley Braithwaite, holds a degree from The Victorian College of the Arts (University of of Melbourne) and a Master’s degree in Fine Art (Dance Performance & Choreography) from Mills College in Oakland, California. During her studies at Mills College, she was awarded two consecutive Hellman Fellowships which provided a treasured opportunity to receive classical vocal tuition.
Having dedicated many years to finessing her skills as a dancer and choreographer in Australia and the USA, Lesley Braithwaite brings an innate kinetic know-how to her stage performances and a uniquely creative eye to each production. While exploring the Tango scene in San Francisco she landed an unexpected gig singing in a bar, which rekindled a deep desire to ‘find’ and develop her voice and explore the spellbinding potential of the chanteuse. A far cry perhaps from the rare chamber opera gems presented in this performance … which of course makes the enterprise all the more delicious.
The melodies and maladies of Messieurs Sullivan & Gilbert, weave their merry way through Lesley Braithwaite's earliest musical memories. Her first official taste of topsy-turvy came in Trial by Jury, playing Angelina for a Loosely Woven production that was a surprise hit at the National Folk Festival in Canberra. Her debut with G&S Opera Sydney followed swiftly thereafter, when she landed the role of Pitti-Sing in The Mikado (2019), and she has since been honoured with a number of invitations to perform and tour under the banner of this fine group. Most recently she made a mischief of Willis’ “Private” life in the company’s re-envisioned Iolanthe.
Lesley Braithwaite joined forces with Endangered Productions in early 2020 when she was invited to sing the role of Herr Schlendrian’s wilful daughter, Lieschen or Lisa, in their production of J.S. Bach's charmingly comedic Schweigt stille, plaudert nicht - also known as the Coffee Cantata BWV 211. Whilst this production was delayed by the “on again off again” jig of social restrictions that year, the void was quickly filled with another Endangered endeavour. Nordic Noir wove together excerpts from Peer Gynt alongside an original play, aptly titled Virus - a Fugue by playwright Fredrik Brattberg. This production was sponsored, in part, by The Royal Norwegian Embassy. Lesley played the central character of SHE in Brattberg’s work. And in the tribute to Grieg , could be seen cavorting with trolls as a lusty herd girl, before donning the hooded cape of soulful Solveig. She reports that “singing that character’s divine signature aria, in Norwegian, to a room filled with Norwegians, is an experience that remains firmly planted between terror and triumph”. The Coffee Cantata ultimately debuted in Bobin NSW when the company toured "Bach to the Bush" in 2021. It was then paired with W.A. Mozart’s Bastien & Bastienne for Double Trouble presented at Customs House in Sydney with Lesley performing the lead soprano role in both works. Joyfully engaged with Endangered Productions since 2020, Lesley Braithwaite has chalked up an eclectic repertoire of chamber opera gems. It’s So Last Century, presented at The Nielson in November 2023, showcased the work of four 20th Century composers, and featured he as Lucy in Gian Carlo Menotti’s The Telephone. |
