Following a distinguished international singing career during which she was acclaimed for her radiant, crystalline voice and superb musicianship across a broad repertoire, Christine Brandes takes to the podium as conductor and garners praise for performances in the opera house and on the symphony stage.
A 2021-22 fellow of the Dallas Opera Hart Institute for Women Conductors, Christine Brandes has led productions of Gluck’s Orfeo et Eurydice and Handel’s Giulio Cesare in Egitto with West Edge Opera. With Victory Hall Opera in Charlottesville, Virginia, she has led productions of Haydn’s Armida, Rameau’s La Sympathie and an innovative adaptation of Gluck’s Orfeo et Eurydice interwoven with a new play collaborating with deaf actors.
In June of 2023, she was one of three conductors leading the debut performance of the International Pride Orchestra in San Francisco, conducting the world premiere of “Loud” by Jimmy Lopez.
Christine makes her conducting debut at the Seattle Opera in the fall of 2023 with Handel’s Alcina.
On the concert stage, Ms Brandes made her debut with the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra in the fall of 2022 and her debut performances of Handel’s Messiah with the Virginia Symphony in December of 2022. She has also served as the cover conductor for Nicholas McGegan with the Oakland Symphony.
As a singer, she has sung principal roles for the following opera companies: San Francisco, Seattle, Washington National, Houston Grand, Minnesota, New York City Opera, Philadelphia, Glimmerglass, Portland, among others.
She has also sung with the following orchestras: Cleveland, Chicago, New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, Atlanta, Detroit, Seattle, Minnesota, National Symphony, with such distinguished conductors as Sir Simon Rattle, Pierre Boulez, Esa-Pekka Salonen, and Nicholas McGegan, among many others.