Alexandra Hughes | home
Biography
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 Hänsel
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 Waltraute
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Ms. Hughes earned both her Bachelors and Masters degrees at the Juilliard School. While attending the American Opera Center Ms. Hughes was invited to debut with the San Francisco Opera as Flosshilde in Nikolaus Lehnhoff's Ring Cycle. She subsequently began a long relationship with Seattle Opera appearing for five seasons in their Ring Cycle, where she was initially heard as Flosshilde, Grimgerde and Waltraute. Previous to her most recent Seattle roles (Fricka in Das Rheingold and Waltraute in Die Walküre) she also appeared as Olga in Eugene Onegin, the title part of Carmen and most recently Hänsel in Hänsel und Gretel. Other North American highlights have included Der Rosenkavalier (Octavian) with L'Opéra de Montreal, Carmen with New Orleans, Ariadne auf Naxos (Dryade) with the Santa Fe Opera, Hänsel with the Tulsa Opera, The Turn of the Screw (Mrs. Grose), with the New York City Opera and Hänsel und Gretel (her first Gertrude) with the Canadian Opera Company.
On the European front Alexandra Hughes made her debut with the Grand Théatre de Genève as Varvara in Kát'a Kabanová. She was subsequently engaged for a four-year contract as principal Mezzo-soprano with the Stadttheater Freiburg during the tenure of Donald Runnicles. Her roles included Carmen, Hänsel, Octavian, Charlotte in Werther, the Composer in Ariadne auf Naxos, Dorabella in Così fan tutte, and the Muse/Nicklausse in Les Contes d'Hoffman, a role she also portrayed with the Bonn Opera. Ventures into the contemporary repertoire include the leading role of Marie in the world premiere of Jost Meier's The Dreyfus Affair in Basel, Switzerland as well as the European premiere of Phillip Glass/Robert Moran's The Juniper Tree in the title role of the Stepmother. With L'Opéra de Lausanne, Théatre Carouge in Geneva and the Stadttheater Berne she portrayed Nancy in Britten's Albert Herring. Other European appearances include a debut with the Marseille Opera as Maddalena in Rigoletto, Samson et Dalila (her first Dalila), with the Odense Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Michael Schonwandt, the featured soloist at the Festival Internationale d'Art Lyrique in Poitiers, France for the past two seasons, and the alto soloist with the Paris Chorale society in Rossini's “Petite Messe Solennelle”.
Ms. Hughes' extensive concert appearances have led her to her debut bow with the Aspen Music Festival under the baton of James Conlon as Wellgunde and Gutrune in Die Götterdämmerung and as Margret in Wozzeck. She also made her Carnegie Hall debut in Mahler's Eighth Symphony as Maria Aegyptiaca. She made her Alice Tully Hall debut as the soloist in Prokoviev's Alexander Nevsky, has been a soloist with conductor Andrew Litton in Beethoven's Missa Solemnis and with conductor Donald Runnicles she was featured soloist in Mozart's Requiem and Mahler's Third Symphony. In recital Ms. Hughes has been a frequent guest with the much acclaimed Brooklyn Bargemusic series in New York, where she most recently performed two concerts featuring works of contemporary British and American Composers. In New York she has been a featured recitalist at the Pierpont Morgan Library, Sotheby's, La Maison Francaise, and the Hyde Collection.
Ms. Hughes' growing repertoire in the direction of Wagner/Verdi has led her most recently to the Dallas Opera as Flosshilde in Das Rheingold, to San Francisco's Ring Cycle as Waltraute in Die Walküre (and first cover Fricka) as well as her first Brangaene in Tristan und Isolde with the Hawaii Opera Theater. Recently she also debuted with the Gurzenich-Orchester Kolner Philharmonie (with James Conlon) as First Norn and Flosshilde (Die Götterdämmerung). With the Finnish National Opera she made her debut as Fricka (Die Walküre) in Goetz Friedrich's Ring Cycle and debuted with the Florentine Opera as Meg Page in Verdi's Falstaff.
Engagements also include Rossini's “Petite Messe Solennelle” (alto soloist) with the Paris Chorale Society at the American Cathedral in Paris, a project which was then invited to the new French festival “Les Eclectiques de Rocamadour”. In the Gala opening of the Berkshire's newest Festival, “The Shaker Mountain Festival”, Ms. Hughes performed the role of Fricka in “Die Walküre”. Other venues have been concerts with the French Festival “Le Festival Lyrique de Belle Ile-en-Mer”, a Philadelphia Museum of Art recital of American music related to the times of Thomas Eakins, and featured soloist with the Paris Choral Society's performance of Requiem by Maurice Duruflé.
Ms. Hughes' performing has ventured into recitals of late 19th c. American music at the American Museum in Giverny in tandem with the Thomas Eakins exhibit at the Musee d'Orsay in Paris. She was also the mezzo lead in Garrison Keillor's new opera, "Mr. and Mrs. Olson", which she performed with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. In addition, she performed excerpts from the opera on Garrison Keillor's "Prairie Home Companion" live from New York's Town Hall. Ms. Hughes ventured into new territory performing the role of Cecilia March at the Cabrillo Music Festival's production of Little Women, written by Mark Adamo and conducted by Marin Alsop. She then returned to the Shaker Mountain Festival to perform in An Evening of Richard Strauss with The Albany Symphony Orchestra. Her next exciting venue was a return to Carnegie Hall as the Alto soloist, Maria Samaritana, in Mahler's greatest Symphony (No. 8). This summer, Ms. Hughes returned for her eleventh season with the Seattle Opera Company, covering Jane Eaglen in the role of Ortrud in Wagner's Lohengrin.
Ms. Hughes recently accepted the position of artistic liaison with Nuage France, a Paris and Boston-based organization that encourages and supports at-risk youth groups through the arts.
She is featured in Strathmore's Who's Who as well as America's Registry of Outstanding Professionals.
Ms. Hughes makes her home in New York and Paris.
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