With a voice described as “fresh”, “ethereal”, "captivating" and “angelic”, soprano Brenna Wells is garnering attention for her varied performances. Her operatic roles include La Poesie and La Paix in Les Arts Florissants, Galatea in Acis and Galatea, Venus in L’Europe Galante, Sandman in Hansel and Gretel, First Witch in Dido and Aeneas, La Musique in Charpentier's Les Plaisirs de Versailles with the L'academie, as well as roles in Charpentier's La Descente d’Orphée aux Enfers and La Couronne de Fleurs. She was Première Nymphe de l’Acheron in the Boston Early Music Festival’s production and Grammy-nominated recording of Lully’s Psyché and is featured on two BEMF recordings, Marc-Antoine Charpentier's Acteon and John Blow's Venus and Adonis. She made her Carnegie Weill Hall Debut as a winner of the International Chamber Music Ensemble Competition, and returned to Carnegie Hall under the baton of Ton Koopman as a Young Artist. Ms. Wells has sung and recorded with such acclaimed ensembles as the BEMF Orchestra, Blue Heron, Britten-Pears Baroque Orchestra, Boston Baroque, Opera Boston, L’Académie, and the Handel and Haydn Society. She has appeared in many festivals and programs world wide including the London Handel Festival, Aldeburgh Festival, Amherst Early Music Festival, BBC Proms and in both 2008 and 2009, she was selected to perform in the Early Music Seminars at the Fondazione Giorgio Cini in Venice, Italy.
Ms. Wells performed in the Yale Choral Artists' inaugural season, under the direction of William Christie and has joined the Austin based Ensemble Viii for performances including solos the Couperin Leçons de Ténèbres, Bach's Cantata Christ Lag in Todes Banden, Buxtehude Jesu Membra Nostre, and the Monteverdi 1610 Vespers, among other progams. Highlights from recent seasons include her soloist debut at Symphony Hall under the direction of Harry Christophers, appearances as the soprano soloist in Bach's St. John Passion and Cantata In allen Meinen Taten with the Emmanuel Music, soloist with the Metropolitan Chorale for Handel's Israel in Egypt, and other solo performances with Handel and Haydn Society, Boston Baroque, Yale Choral Artists, Boston Cecilia, Cambridge Concentus, Collage New Music, Connecticut Early Music Festival, and a return to the Boston Early Music Festival and their tour of the Charpentier Opera Double Bill: La Descente d’Orphée aux Enfers and La Couronne de Fleurs to Victoria, British Columbia and New York. She also had the unexpected dream debut of singing back up vocals on "You Can't Always Get What You Want" with the Rolling Stones and their 50th Anniversary Tour. In 2014-2015, Brenna was chosen as the the Lorraine Hunt Lieberson Fellow at Emmanuel Music in Boston where she performed as soloist in Bach's St. John Passion. Miss Wells recently became a resident of Seattle, WA and held the post of Interim Program Director and Professor of Music at Trinity Lutheran College. Highlights from recent seasons include appearances with Seraphic Fire, Ensemble VIII, Lorelei Ensemble, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, the Handel and Haydn Society, New World Symphony, Ensemble VIII, Vermont Symphony Orchestra, Sammamish Symphony Orchestra, the Brookings Harbor Friends of Music series, Cleveland Orchestra Miami, Vancouver Early Music Festival, Pacific MusicWorks Underground, Early Music Guild of Seattle, Emerald Ensemble, Blue Heron Choir and Pacific Musicworks' production of Purcell's Dido and Aeneas and the Beethoven Festival in Warsaw, Poland. She was also the Staff Soprano for the Blessed Sacrament Church in the University District where she has appeared as the soprano soloist for Handel's Messiah and the St. Cecilia Festival with works including Mozart's Exultate Jubilate, Vivaldi's Gloria and Purcell's Ode to St. Cecilia. Highlights from the 2018-2019 season included her soloist debut with the Aspen Symphony Orchestra in Mozart’s Requiem as a Participating Artist with the Professional Choral Institute at the Aspen Music Festival and School with Seraphic Fire. She also debuted with Capella Romana in Seattle and Portland and performed with Ensemble Viii in Austin, Texas, Blue Heron Choir in Boston and New York, Seraphic Fire in Miami, Pacific MusicWorks’s performances of Monteverdi’s Selve Morale, and recorded John Luther Adams’ Becoming Desert with the Seattle Symphony Chorale and Orchestra. She also made her debut with Emerald City Music performing Steve Reich’s rarely staged Music for Eighteen Musicians. During the 2019-2020 season, Brenna will return as a Participating Artist with Seraphic Fire at the Professional Choral Institute at the Aspen Music Festival and School and at Chorus America in Miami. She will make her debut singing with Grammy award winning Roomful of Teeth in the production of Bryce Dessner's “Triptych (Eyes of One on Another)”: On the work of Robert Mapplethorpe at the Moore Theatre in Seattle. She can also be seen singing with Blue Heron Choir in Boston for the 20th Anniversary Season, Ensemble Viii in Austin Texas, Portland’s Capella Romana and Seattle’s new professional ensemble, Sound City Singers.