Lillian Brooks

Canadian mezzo-soprano Lillian Brooks has been praised for her “lyric sound” (Ludwig van Toronto), “easy handling of coloratura” (Schmopera), and noted for her “wonderful sensitivity to story and the development of song” (FYI Music). This season Lillian will make her debut with the Grand Philharmonic Choir in Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, and, as a soloist in Handel’s Messiah with the Peterborough Singers. Lillian is also excited to return to the stage with Chorus Niagara and present a unique rendition of Handel’s Messiah as part of their 2023/2024 season.

In 2015, Lillian made her professional debut with Chorus Niagara singing Mozart’s Requiem under the baton of Robert Cooper. Her love for oratorio and concert work continues to grow as she finds herself in high demand in repertoire such as Handel’s Messiah and Dixit Dominus, Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, Bach’s St John Passion and St Matthew Passion, Vivaldi’s Gloria, Durufle’s Requiem, Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde, and the Canadian premieres of both Last Light Above the World by Alan Bevan and The Cross of Christ by Romulo Delgado. Equally at home on the operatic stage, her roles include Bradamante in Alcina (Handel), Annio in La clemenza di Tito (Mozart), Third Lady in Die Zauberflöte (Mozart), Flora in La Traviata (Verdi), Cornelia in Giulio Cesare (Handel), and Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro (Mozart).

Lillian enjoyed two years with Calgary Opera as a member of their McPhee Artist Development Program during their 2019/20 and 2020/21 seasons. During her time in Calgary, Lillian had the pleasure of performing as The Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors, and Hansel in Hansel & Gretel. Lillian also had the opportunity to participate in new-music workshops as part of Calgary Opera’s “Opera Labs” series, working with Canadian conductors and composers such as John Estacio, Dean Burry, Kelly Marie Murphy, Jean-Claude Picard, and Johannes Debus.

Recent highlights include Fenena in Nabucco, and Lucia in Cavalleria Rusticana with Toronto City Opera, Handel’s Messiah with Brott Opera, Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis with Chorus Niagara, Sister Bridgeman in Florence: the Lady with the Lamp with VOICEBOX Opera in Concert, and Fetill/Third Lady in A Northern Lights Dream by Michael Rose with Toronto Operetta Theatre. In 2023, Lillian made her Stratford debut performing Mahler’s Ruckert Lieder with innerCHAMBER, and returned to Koerner Hall to perform Mrs. Anderssen in the Royal Conservatory’s production of Sondheim’s A Little Night Music. Other opera credits include Mrs. Nolan in The Medium (Menotti), Filipyevna in Eugene Onegin (Tchaikovsky), and Cornelia in Giulio Cesare (Handel).

Lillian’s musical journey has led to numerous accolades for her dedication to the craft. In 2015, she was awarded the prestigious Hnatyshyn Foundation Developing Artists Grant, while graduating cum laude from York University, where she studied with Canadian mezzo-soprano Catherine Robbin, and earned first prize in their annual Concerto Competition. Brooks received her Artist Diploma Program in Vocal Performance from the Glenn Gould School in 2017 and went on to participate in the 2018 Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme in Aldeburgh, UK, where she studied with internationally acclaimed faculty including Matthew Rose and Anne-Sofie von Otter.

January 2024

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