Emily van Evera

Born: Minnesota, USA

The American soprano, Emily Van Evera, has lived in England for many years. She has appeared as a soloist throughout Europe and her native North America with ensembles including the Taverner Consort, Orchestra of the 18th Century, Philharmonia Baroque, the Hilliard Ensemble, London Symphony Orchestra, Tragicomedia, Circa 1500, Musicians of Swanne Alley, Sequentia, Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, Gothic Voices and Academy of St-Martin-in-the-Fields. Conductors for whom she has sung include Andrew Parrott, Frans Brüggen, Joshua Rifkin and Gustav Leonhardt.

Amongst Emily Van Evera’s numerous recordings are award-winning discs of music by Monteverdi, J.S. Bach, Antonio Vivaldi and Georg Frideric Handel with the Taverner Players (EMI, Virgin), by Luigi Rossi with Tragicomedia (Teldec), Cavalli with Concerto Palatino (Harmonia Mundi France) and Elizabethan song and ballads with Musicians of Swanne Alley (Virgin). Most recently, she sang the role of Dido in a Taverner Players/Sony recording of Purcell's Dido and Aeneas ('given a simple choice [among all recordings of the work]...I'd walk away with this one' BBC Music Magazine) and featured on The Promise of Ages ('which Sony might safely have named "Quite Simply the Best Christmas Album Ever" had not that title already been nabbed' BBC Music Magazine). Her unaccompanied singing of music by Hildegard of Bingen was used by Angel Records as the basis of their best-selling Vision, awarded Best Classical Crossover CD of 1995 (Billboard).

Stage and television appearances have included leading roles in operas and dramatic works by Monteverdi, G.F. Handel, Charpentier and Lully. Recent engagements include a live broadcast of songs by Charles Ives and Carl Ruggles for the BBC Proms and of dramatic solo works by Rameau and Hasse for CBC, recitals of lieder by Fanny Mendelssohn and performances of G.F. Handel's Messiah for American National Public Radio.