“Christine Buras' Donna Anna is hair-raisingly sung, surging with the burning flame of vengeance.”
Christine Buras, soprano
Soprano Christine Buras has been praised for her rich lyrical timbre, commanding stage presence, and fearless approach to 20th and 21st-century music. Her diverse repertoire spans from Baroque chamber works to the grand operas of Puccini and Strauss, and even contemporary performance art.
Originally from Washington, DC, Christine’s musical journey began as a girl chorister at Washington National Cathedral. After studying at the University of Chicago, Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, and the Royal Academy of Music, she has lived in London since 2013. She is proud to be a student of Pamela Kuhn. Her operatic roles include Donna Anna (Don Giovanni), Contessa Almaviva (Le Nozze di Figaro), Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte), Gretel (Hänsel und Gretel), Helmwige (Die Walküre), Erste Dienerin (Die Ägyptische Helena), and the title role in Handel’s Theodora.
A passionate performer of song repertoire, she was a finalist in the 2020 Oxford Lieder Young Artist Competition with pianist Thomas Ang, performing a programme of Duparc, Strauss, Debussy, and Sibelius. She and Thomas have continued to perform together regularly, including a recital of Nikolai Medtner (near his home in Golders Green) this October, and plans to record a CD of 20th and 21st century American song.
Christine’s career began on the concert stage, and she hugely enjoys performing oratorio and other concert repertoire. She has been a frequent soloist at venues in London such as St. Martin-in-the-Fields and Sinfonia Smith Square (formerly known as St. John Smith Square.) In spring 2022, Christine returned to Washington National Cathedral to perform as the soprano soloist in Mendelssohn’s Elijah. Her concert repertoire includes major works by Bach, Handel, Haydn and Mozart, song cycles such as Richard Strauss’ Vier letzte Lieder, and the Verdi Requiem and Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem. She is also a founding member of the Hampstead Collective, a North London-based group that presents a monthly concert series of oratorio, song, and chamber music.
Recently, Christine made her Royal Albert Hall debut with the Philharmonia Orchestra, singing the role of Gerhilde in the ‘Ride of the Valkyries’ from Wagner’s Die Walküre. This summer she is touring with Regents Opera, singing the role of Mimì in Puccini’s La Bohème. She looks forward to a diverse season of concert and recital repertoire, and the title role in a concert performance of Dvořák’s Rusalka.
