Ellie Dehn
American soprano Ellie Dehn has been praised by critics as “a revelation” (Chicago Sun-Times), acclaimed for her “great stage presence and a voice combining metallic clarity and sensual richness” (Wall Street Journal). In the 2023-2024 season, Ms. Dehn returns to Opera Colorado as Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Freia in Das Rheingold with the Dallas Symphony and the covers of Musetta in La bohème, and Magda in La Rondine, at the Metropolitan Opera.
Ellie Dehn’s recent seasons have included Donna Anna in Don Giovanni with Detroit Opera, Mimi in La bohème with Arizona Opera and Boston Youth Symphony, Contessa in Le nozze di Figaro with Opera Colorado, Lady Billows in Albert Herring with Minnesota Opera. As a cover at the Metropolitan Opera, Ms. Dehn has covered Musetta in La bohème, Alice Ford in Falstaff, and the Countess in Le nozze di Figaro. A busy concert artist, highlights of recent seasons have included Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the St. Louis Symphony and Stéphane Denève, Handel’s Messiah with the New Jersey and North Carolina Symphony’s, Mozart’s Requiem with the San Antonio Symphony, Britten’s Spring Symphony with the Grant Park Music Festival, Elijah with the Florida Orchestra and Mozart’s Davide Penitente with Mainly Mozart San Diego.
Career highlights include the title role in Strauss’ Arabella and Massenet’s Manon with San Francisco Opera, the Seiji Ozawa Music Academy as Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus, and a return to Grand Théâtre de Genève as the Countess in Figaro Gets a Divorce; a modern addition to the Figaro trilogy composed by Elena Langer. She made her company debut at Royal Opera House Covent Garden as the Countess in Sir David McVicar’s production of Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro, conducted by Ivor Bolton, which was broadcasted live to movie theaters around the world; her Metropolitan Opera debut as Mrs. Naidoo in Philip Glass’ Satyagraha, followed by returns as Musetta in Franco Zerferelli’s iconic production of La bohème and Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni; her Teatro alla Scala debut as Antonia in Les Contes d’Hoffmann and return as Musetta; multiple appearances with San Francisco Opera including all three Mozart/Da Ponte heroines: the Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, and Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte, as well as Musetta in La bohème and Micaela in Calixto Bieito’s production of Carmen; her debut at Rome’s Teatro dell’Opera as Helena in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and return as Musetta; and her Houston Grand Opera debut Mozart’s Countess.
Other successes include her role debut in the title role of Dvořák’s Rusalka with Lyric Opera of Kansas City; Alice Ford in Verdi’s Falstaff with San Diego Opera, Donna Anna with the Ravinia Festival, the Bayerische Staatsoper, Opera Colorado and San Diego Opera; Donna Elvira with the Spoleto Festival USA and at Teatro Massimo in Palermo, Fiordiligi with the Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, and her debut in the title role of Weber’s Euryanthe at the Bard SummerScape Festival with the American Symphony Orchestra.
Her debuts with the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia and the Teatro Comunale di Bologna as Anne Truelove in new productions of The Rake’s Progress were both under the baton of Daniele Gatti. Her numerous company debuts include San Diego Opera and Minnesota Opera as Mimì, Santa Fe Opera as Rosaura in the world premiere of Lewis Spratlan’s Life is a Dream, Le Grand Théâtre de Genève as Agathe in Der Freischütz, Bilbao Opera as Madame Cortese in Il viaggio a Reims, and LA Opera as Freia in Das Rheingold. Ms. Dehn received critical acclaim for her performances as Juliette in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette with Minnesota Opera.
Highlights of recent orchestral engagements include performances of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with Dallas Symphony conducted by Jaap Van Zweden to conclude the Music Director’s farewell season with the company. At Carnegie Hall, she has performed Mozart’s Mass in C minor, Bach’s Magnificat, Vivaldi’s Gloria, and Haydn’s Harmoniemesse. At Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall, she joined the acclaimed International Contemporary Ensemble for the New York premiere of Messiaen’s Chants de terre et de ciel at the Mostly Mozart Festival, joined Eve Queler and the Opera Orchestra of New York as Inez in Meyerbeer’s L’Africaine. Ms. Dehn has performed with the Cleveland Orchestra on several occasions, most recently as the soprano soloist in Handel’s Messiah and Nielsen’s Symphony No. 3. She has been a featured soloist with the Cincinnati May Festival, performing Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Haydn’s The Seasons, Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice, and Mahler’s Symphony No. 8. She sang Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 with both the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional of Mexico and the Milwaukee Symphony. She has performed Hadyn’s Creation and Handel’s Messaiah with the Orchetra of St. Luke’s at St. Thomas Church in New York. She has sung Handel’s Messiah with New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Florida Orchestra, and performed Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Ft. Wayne Philharmonic.
Ellie Dehn’s discography includes Ravel: Intimate Masterpieces, released on the Oberlin Music label and distributed by Naxos America, live recordings of Saint-Saëns’ Henry VIII and Weber’s Euryanthe at the Bard SummerScape Festival. She resides in Minneapolis with her daughter, Arabella.
