British soprano Claire Lees has built a reputation for radiant stage presence and vocal warmth across the opera houses and festivals of the UK. Her Despina in Così fan tutte at the Nevill Holt Festival drew widespread critical acclaim — “She is the star of the evening…. She sparkles on the stage” (Seen & Heard International).
She has a close relationship with Garsington Opera, where her roles have included Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro, La Musica in Orfeo, Naiad in Ariadne auf Naxos — for which she won the 2023 Leonard Ingram Award — and Minerva/Amore in Monteverdi’s Il ritorno d’Ulisse in Patria. Other operatic highlights include Pamina in The Magic Flute and Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro for Opera North, Barbarina in Le Nozze di Figaro and Oscar in Un ballo in maschera for Opera Holland Park, Adina in L’elisir d’amore for Iford Opera, and Venus in Venus and Adonis for Blackheath Opera. She has also covered the title role in Semele at Glyndebourne Festival Opera.
On the concert platform, her engagements have included Mozart’s C Minor Mass with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
Claire is a graduate of the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She is a Samling Artist, winner of the 2019 Wil Keune Mozart Prize at the Veronica Dunne International Singing Competition, and a recipient of an Opera Awards Foundation bursary.
