Amina Edris
Shirley Thomson
Alice Jones
“…beguiling sensitivity, unfailing accuracy and a tone of dark steeliness…”
(The New York Times)
Soprano Amina Edris has been hailed as a “revelation” (Forum Opera) and praised for her “lustrous” tone (Opera News). Born in Egypt and raised in New Zealand, she has blended her cultural background to create her own unique artistic identity, performing a variety of roles ranging from baroque music to world premieres with a focus on French repertoire. Recent career highlights include Manon and Juliette at the Opéra national de Paris, Cleopatra in the world premiere of John Adams’ Antony and Cleopatra at San Francisco Opera, and Alice in the acclaimed recording of Meyerbeer’s Robert le Diable.
Amina’s 2024/25 season includes one role debut and several house debuts. She begins her season with a return to the Opéra national de Paris where she revives the role of Marguerite in Faust. She continues with her first house debut of the season, as Juliette in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette with LA Opera. Amina then makes her Royal Opera House debut in December, performing the role of Musetta in Puccini’s La bohème in Covent Garden, London. She makes her house debut at the Staatsoper Hamburg as Antonio in Les Contes d’Hoffmann, also making her role debut. At Opéra National de Paris, she returns to perform the title role in Massenet’s Manon, conducted by Pierre Dumoussaud. In concert, she returns to the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence to perform on tour with the Orchestre des jeunes de la Méditerranée, conducted by Evan Rogister.
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In previous seasons, Amina performed the role of Cleopatra in the world premiere of John Adams’ Antony and Cleopatra at the opening of San Francisco Opera’s centennial season. She also debuted the role of Manon (Manon) to great critical acclaim at Opéra National de Bordeaux and later performed the role at Opéra National de Paris and at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona. She debuted the role of Adalgisa (Norma) in concert at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, performed the role of La Folie (Platée) under the baton of Marc Minkowski at Opéra national de Paris, and made her debut at the Grand-Théâtre de Genève as Fatime (Les Indes galantes) in a new production by Lydia Steier. She has also performed Musetta (La bohème) at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Mimi (La bohème) at the Canadian Opera Company, the title-role in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette at the San Francisco Opera and Opéra de Paris, Marguerite in Gounod’s Faust at Detroit Opera, title-role in Thaïs with Opéra de Toulon, Liu in Puccini’s Turandot at Teatro di San Carlo, Glycère in Gounod’s Sapho with Washington Concert Opera, Beatriz in Thomas Ades’ The Exterminating Angel at Opéra National de Paris, Micaëla in Bizet’s Carmen at Opéra du Rhin, Berthe in Meyerbeer’s Le prophète at the Bard Opera Festival and Violetta in Verdi’s La Traviata both at Opéra de Limoges and the Canadian Opera Company. Equally dazzling on the concert stage, Amina’s appearances include Fauré’s Requiem, Mozart’s Requiem with the Orchestre de Chambre de Paris, Beethoven’s Symphony No.9 with Philharmonie Luxembourg, Mahler’s Symphony No. 4, gala concerts at Opéra National de Bordeaux, the Rudolfinum in Prague and with Real Filharmonia de Galicia, Ravel’s Sheherazade with the Stuttgarter Philharmoniker and the Schwabacher Recital series with San Francisco Opera.
She is featured as Alice (Robert le diable) on the critically acclaimed recording of Robert le diable, which was released on the Palazzetto Bru Zane in 2022, and the title role in Massenet’s Ariane with the Bayerischen Rundfunks (recorded by Palazzetto Bru Zane for release in September 2023).
Amina holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, a Masters from the Wales International Academy of Voice and a post-graduate diploma from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. After completing her studies, Amina participated in the Merola Opera Program, subsequently becoming an Adler Fellow at the San Francisco Opera.
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“As Berthe, Amina Edris sang with beguiling sensitivity, unfailing accuracy and a tone of dark steeliness, bringing resoluteness and emotional depth to a character that can feel underwritten.”
“Berthe, as voiced by Amina Edris, matched her trills, vibrato and ornamentation perfectly in their final duet. Edris’s instrument focused like a pinspot, and she could also act.
“Between the full-bodied, luscious and colourful opening and the fresh, pure, fervent, ecstatic end, the psychological progression [as Thaïs] is painted with extraordinary skill.”
“Amina Edris and Pene Pati appear as doomed lovers, Mimi and Rodolfo. The two are exceptionally well-paired. Generously supported by de Souza and company, the Egyptian-born, New Zealand soprano elicits a profound measure of authenticity, tinting her performance with expressions of stunningly original pianissimo and meticulously considered tempi. Innocence given voice. Pati’s Rodolfo, by way of contrast, is all impetuousness and hyperbole and tumultuous counterpoint. The pair’s treatment of Puccini’s supremely affecting Act III duet, Dunque è proprio finita! (“So, it’s all over!”) soaring and bittersweet, is a moment not soon forgotten.”
“One couldn’t have hoped for a more appealing pair of lovers than Pene Pati and Amina Edris. The Samoan-born Pati possesses one of the most beautiful tenor voices I’ve heard in years. Egyptian-born Amina Edris’ lush lyric soprano is a joy, with warm timbre and natural trills. Unsurprisingly, they’re also a couple in real life, no doubt explaining how their chemistry is so intoxicating. The pair positively exude charisma, and Pati’s charm is life-affirming. Both are such convincing actors that it’s hard to take one’s eyes off them. The Act I sequence of “Che gelida manina”, “Sì, mi chiamano Mimì” and “O soave fanciulla” were moments of pure bliss.”
“Amina Edris demonstrated courage and dedication, with a delicate and elegant first act Je suis encore tout étourdie . In her De ella Adieu, notre petite table, her singing was generous in harmonics and with a tasteful phrasing that caught attention.”
