Madeleine joins us in 2025 to perform in ENEMY OF THE STATE on Saturday 18 October.
Lyric soprano Madeleine Pierard excels in adventurous repertoire and is noted for her outstanding vocal dexterity. A native New Zealander, she studied at the Royal College of Music and the National Opera Studio, garnering numerous awards, including the Lexus Song Quest, Lies Askonas and Royal Overseas League prizes, and was a Jette Parker Young Artist with The Royal Opera, Covent Garden.
For The Royal Opera, Madeleine has sung Contessa di Folleville (Il Viaggio a Reims), Musetta (La Boheme - London/Istanbul), Lisa (La Sonnambula), Berta (ll Barbiere di Siviglia), Sandmann (Hänsel und Gretel), Sacerdotessa (Aida), Noémie (Cendrillon), Wood Nymph (Rusalka) and Costanza in Haydn’s L’isola disabitata in Hobart; and covered the roles of Kát'a Kabanova, Violetta, Donna Anna, Marfa (The Tsar’s Bride), Elettra (Idomeneo) and Leila (Les Pêcheurs de Perles).
Other recent roles include Lady Macbeth with English Touring Opera; Violetta, Pat Nixon (Nixon in China), Miss Jessel (Turn of the Screw) and Musetta with NZ Opera; Anne Trulove and Marzelline with the Auckland Philharmonic Orchestra; Musetta in Francesca Zambello’s La Boheme at the Royal Albert Hall; Louise (Louise), Elettra (Idomeneo) and Cecilio (Lucio Silla) for The Buxton Festival, Female Chorus (The Rape of Lucretia) under Muhai Tang in Tianjin, China, Woman (Erwartung) with Shadwell Opera and the title role of Régine in Rufus Wainwright’s Prima Donna.
Madeleine's recent concert appearances include Beethoven's 9th Symphony with Royal Philharmonia at The Barbican, Britten's War Requiem at the Cadogan Hall; numerous appearances and recordings with the NZSO including Haydn's Creation and Handel's Messiah under Nicholas McGegan; an opera gala with l’Orchestre Symphonique de Bretagne; Ross Harris’ Symphony No. 2 with the Orchestre Symphonique de Strasbourg and Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire with Stroma. She has also featured as a soloist with The Royal Ballet in Fauré’s Requiem and Poulenc’s Gloria and in Carmina Burana with the Birmingham Royal Ballet at The London Coliseum.
A noted recitalist, she has appeared alongside Dame Kiri Te Kanawa and at the Wigmore and Cadogan Halls and has toured New Zealand and Germany in recital. Madeleine has also sung numerous recitals at The Royal Opera House.
Recent appearances include a concert of Brahms Lieder with Michael Houstoun in the Hawke’s Bay Festival, the featured opera soloist in a series of Classical concerts at the Royal Albert Hall and Mrs Julian (Owen Wingrave) with Grange Park Opera in the UK.
Madeleine is a teacher and mentor for The Royal Opera House and has recently been named the inaugural Dame Malvina Major Chair in Opera at Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato in Aotearoa New Zealand.
