Claire Read

Soprano Claire Lees completed her undergraduate studies at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and the Masters and Opera Course at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London with Yvonne Kenny. Claire Lees was soon performing in song recitals and as a soloist in choral works and opera productions in works from Monteverdi and Bach through Mozart to contemporary repertoire. She sang with the Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Company, among others, and in 2010 won the prestigious Delius Prize. She took master classes with Sarah Walker and Susan Bullock, among others, competed in several competitions and was a finalist in The Maureen Lehane Vocal Award 2014 at Wigmore Hall. In 2016, Claire performed the role of Pamina with the chamber opera company Charles Court Opera for Iford Arts. In 2018, she joined the Glyndebourne opera company as understudy and choir member for several operas.

Since 2013, Claire Lees has collaborated with pianist Lies Braakman and they are now also coached as a duo. They have already performed several times as a song duo and reached the final of the 2015 International Student Song Duo Competition in Enschede. In the process, they became the winners of the Friends of Song Prize. After a successful audition in 2016, the duo was admitted to the soloist list.