Hélène Guilmette

French-Canadian soprano Hélène Guilmette made her Royal Opera debut in the 2015/16 Season as Princesse Laoula (L’Étoile).

Guilmette grew up in Québec and studied music education and piano at the Université Laval and singing with Marlena Kleinman Malas in New York. She went on to win third prize in the Voix Nouvelles Competition in Paris and second prize in the Queen Elisabeth of Belgium International Competition. Her appearances in France include Sophie (Werther) for Paris Opéra and in Strasbourgh under Emmanuel Plasson, Blanche de la Force (Dialogues des Carmélites) and Mélisande (Pelléas et Mélisande) for Opéra de Lyon, Andromède (Lully’s Persée) for Théatre des Champs-Elysées and in Metz and Versailles, Sister Constance (Dialogues des Carmélites) in Nice, Thérèse (Les Mamelles de Tirésias) for the Paris Opéra-Comique and Opéra de Lyon, Hélène (Le Timbre d’argent) for Opéra-Comique, Euridice (Orfeo et Euridice) for Angers-Nantes Opéra, Télaïre (Castor et Pollux) and Hébe/Phani/Fatima (Les Indes galantes) for Théâtre du Capitole in Toulouse and Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro) for Opéra de Montpéllier and in Lille.

International engagements include Princesses Laoula for Dutch National Opera, Sister Constance for Bavarian State Opera and in Toronto, Pamina (Die Zauberflöte) and Sophie in Brussels, Susanna and Zerlina (Don Giovanni) in Montréal, Musetta (La bohème) in Québec and Mélisande (Pelléas et Mélisande) in concert with Kent Nagano and Orchestre symphonique de Montréal. She has sung in concert and recital in Europe, Istanbul and Buenos Aires, in repertory including Handel’s Messiah, Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater (with Andreas Scholl), Mozart’s Requiem, Haydn’s Creation and Poulenc’s Stabat Mater. Her recordings include a French song recital for Analekta, Handel cantatas with Scholl and the Accademia Bizantina and Dixit Dominus/Ode for the Birthday of Queen Anne for Harmonia Mundi.