Soprano Marie Lys (-Jaermann) is studying under Amanda Roocroft at the Royal College of Music’s International Opera School, where she graduated with First Class Honours in 2014. She recently won First Prize in the Lies Askonas Competition 2016, Second Prize in the Joan Chissell Schumann prize for voice and piano 2016, the Michael Normington Prize in the Handel Singing Competition, and First Prize in the Göttinger Reihe Historischer Musik Competition 2015 with Abchordis Ensemble, that she co-founded in 2011. Their first recording, 'Stabat Mater', was published recently by Sony DHM. A Samling Artist and an Aldama Scholar supported by a Basil Coleman Opera Award, she won scholarships from Migros Culture Percentage in 2015 and 2016. She has also been supported by the Leenaards, Dénéréaz, Colette Mosetti and Friedl Wald Foundations and by the Josephine Baker Trust. On the operatic stage she performed the roles of Adele (Die Fledermaus) directed by John Copley, Dalinda (Ariodante), Königin der Nacht (Die Zauberflöte) and Clara (La Vie Parisienne) at the RCM International Opera School, Galatea (Acis and Galatea) with Génération Baroque, Nanetta (Falstaff) at Woodhouse Opera, and Lauretta (Gianni Schicchi) at the Haute Ecole de Musique de Lausanne. In 2011 she premiered the role of Mina in the world premiere of Thierry Besançon's Dracula ou la Symphonie Inachevée in Switzerland. Marie sang under conductors such as Michel Corboz, Laurence Cummings, Sigiswald Kuijken, Martin Gester and Guillaume Tourniaire, in many festivals including Ambronay Festival, La Roque d’Anthéron, La Folle Journée and Verbier Festival. Performance venues include Buckingham Palace, Kings Place in London, Opéra de Lausanne, Opéra de Vichy, Opéra d’Avignon, Duomo di Pisa, Centro Cultural de Belém in Lisbon, Tokyo International Forum and Yomiuri Otemachi Hall in Tokyo. Future appearances include Asteria (Tamerlano) under Laurence Cummings for Buxton Festival, Lauretta (Gianni Schicchi) for Les Azuriales Festival and Eurilla (Orlando Paladino) at the Fribourg Opera.
