"…this was a star turn, wonderfully animated, alluringly garish and crowned by Benjamin's gleaming soprano and seductive phrasing. Please can we have her back?"  Opera Magazine

“Nadine Benjamin’s scene-stealing Musetta suggested a warmth and humanity that would serve her well as a future Mimì.” The Sunday Times

“Individually, I would pick out … Nadine Benjamin’s Clara (her ‘Summertime’ is one of the loveliest I’ve heard) ….”  The Times

“Benjamin sang exquisitely; her voice has the texture and balance for later Verdi and she uses it with style and expertise.”  Opera Magazine

“South London-born soprano Benjamin is particularly outstanding among the singers.”  Evening Standard

British lyric soprano Nadine Benjamin is a charismatic and versatile artist who is in increasing demand on both the operatic stage and the concert platform. She is also developing renown as an exponent of song, in particular Verdi, Strauss and contemporary American song.

Nadine made her Royal Opera House debut in 2020 as a soprano soloist in A New Dark Age, with works by Missy Mazzoli, Anna Meredith and Anna Thorvaldsdottir, and her Glyndebourne Festival Opera debut in August 2021 in the title role in Luisa Miller. Nadine was an English National Opera (ENO) Harewood Artist from 2018 to 2020 and made her debut with the Company as Clara (Porgy and Bess), followed by Musetta (La bohème), Laura (Luisa Miller), Gerhilde (The Valkyrie), Mimì (La bohème) and, most recently, the role of The Mother in the UK première of Janine Tesori and Tazewell Thompson’s important new work Blue.

Nadine’s roles to date also include the title role in Aida, Cio-Cio-San (Madama Butterfly), La Contessa (Le nozze di Figaro), Nadia in Tippett’s The Ice Break with Birmingham Opera Company, Desdemona (Otello) and the title-role Tosca (Tosca) with Everybody Can! Opera, Musetta [cover], Mother/Witch (Hansel and Gretel) for Scottish Opera, Tosca and The Countess (The Marriage of Figaro) for English Touring Opera, Ermyntrude in Mascagni’s Isabeau and Amelia (Un ballo in maschera) with Opera Holland Park and Rosalinde (Die Fledermaus) with Iford Arts. 

In concert, Nadine has performed Strauss’ Four Last Songs, Verdi’s Requiem, Poulenc’s Gloria, Berg’s Seven Early Songs, Dvořak’s Stabat Mater, Schubert’s Mass no. 5 and the soprano solos in Handel’s Messiah, Eternal Source of Light Divine and Mahler’s Symphony no. 4.  Further performances include Barber’s Knoxville – Summer of 1915, Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle, Dvořak’s Te Deum and Mendelssohn’s Elijah and the soprano solo in Tippett’s A Child of Our Time with the London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) under the baton of Edward Gardner. Nadine is a strong proponent of under-represented works and recently presented a recital of songs by black and mixed-race composers at Milton Court with the poet Michael Harper and pianist Caroline Jaya-Ratnam.

Forthcoming engagements include 

The Welsh National Opera tour and the Shirley Thompson Windrush tour. (See Singing Events link for the most up-to-date information.)

Nadine made her debut at the BBC Proms in 2019 as the soprano soloist in Vaughan Williams’ Serenade to Music under the baton of Martyn Brabbins.  She has performed frequently with Britain’s Chineke! Orchestra as well as Warwickshire Symphony Orchestra, Norfolk Symphony Orchestra, West London Sinfonia and The Waynflete Singers.  Nadine has given numerous private recitals, most notably at the Palazzo Doria Pamphilj in Rome, and is known for her recitals at St Paul’s Church, Covent Garden.

In 2014, Nadine created the principal role of Imoinda in the UK premiere of The Crossing, an opera by Odaline de la Martinez, for the London Festival of American Music. Also for the Festival, Nadine has performed song cycles by Bolcom, Child and Barber; the European premiere of John Harbison’s Milosz Songs; and a programme of works by female American composers, accompanied by Susanna Stranders. Recent performances include a recital of American song with pianist Nicole Panizza at the Oxford Lieder Festival and BEAM, a multi-media music theatre piece based on her own life story, for Britten Pears Arts at Snape Maltings.

Nadine recorded the role of Mrs. Waters in Dame Ethel Smyth’s opera The Boatswain’s Mate for Retrospect Opera, which was released in 2016 to critical acclaim and was broadcast on BBC Radio 3. In collaboration with Nicole Panizza, Nadine recorded Emergence, a selection of songs set to the poems of Emily Dickinson which was released in 2019 and nominated in the vocal category at that year’s International Classical Music Awards. Nadine’s debut solo CD Love & Prayer was released in 2018.

Nadine is a mentor, certified High Performance Coach and Mind Coach, and founded her opera and mentorship programme Everybody Can! in 2015 to provide a platform to encourage and support others in recognising and achieving their own visions. 

An Ambassador for London Music Masters, Nadine was “highly commended” at the 2016 Aviva ‘Women of the Future Awards’ and invited to both Buckingham Palace and 10 Downing Street in recognition of her work as a mentor and singer. Nadine was made an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours 2021.

 May 2023