The Australian-born soprano, Bethany Shepherd, studied Classical Singing at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music, under renowned Wagnerian soprano Lisa Gasteen. She obtained her Bachelor of Music degree with distinction from Griffith University in Australia (2009-2013). In 2013, she moved to The Netherlands to undertake a Master of Early Music at the Koninklijk Conservatorium in The Hague, studying with Rita Dams, Jill Feldman, Michael Chance, Pascal Bertin and Peter Kooy, where she graduated with distinction in 2016. She has a special love for French Baroque repertoire, and has taken master-classes with the International Rameau Ensemble and Christophe Rousset.
Bethany Shepherd has appeared in operas and concerts across Australia and Europe (The Netherlands and Italy), with repertoire ranging from Renaissance lute songs to 21st Century music. Operatic roles include La Fée in Massenet's Cendrillon, Miss Wordsworth in Benjamin Britten's Albert Herring, Belinda in Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, and Die Königin der Nacht in W.A. Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte.
Oratorio performances include the soprano solo in Haydn’s Die Schöpfung and J.S. Bach's Johannes-Passion (BWV 245), J.S. Bach's virtuoso solo cantata Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen (BWV 51), and the soprano solo in the Australian premiere of Carl Heinrich Graun's Der Tod Jesu. She has worked with the Nederlands Kamerkoor (since December 2016), the Netherlands Radio Choir (since April 2017), and the Orchestra of the 18th Century under Frans Brüggen (with who she performed excerpts of Les Indes Galantes). She is the co-founder and co-Artistic Director of the early music ensemble Le Voci delle Grazie (since September 2015). |