Elsa Benoit is a French singer acclaimed worldwide for her versatile repertoire, ranging from Baroque to contemporary music. She completed her studies at the Amsterdam Conservatory with a Bachelor of Music and refined her training from 2011 to 2013 at the Dutch National Opera Academy, where she graduated with distinction with a Master's degree in Opera. In November 2012, she was awarded three prizes at the international singing competition »Symphonies d'Automne«, and in March 2013, she won the Brane-Cantenac Prize at the international singing competition MACM. 
 
From 2015 to 2016, Benoit was a member of the ensemble at the Stadttheater in Klagenfurt, where she enjoyed great success in roles such as Tytania in Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream, Giulietta in Bellini's I Capuleti e i Montecchi, Micaëla in Carmen (for which she received the Austrian Music Theatre Award), and Despina in Così fan tutte. She then joined the permanent ensemble of the Bavarian State Opera, where she performed a variety of roles, including the Shepherd in Tannhäuser, Oscar in Un Ballo in Maschera, Frasquita in Carmen, Najade in Ariadne auf Naxos, Adina in L'Elisir d'Amore, Gretel in Hänsel und Gretel, Musetta in La Bohème, Zerlina in Don Giovanni, Emilie in Rameau's Les Indes galantes, and Poppea in Handel's Agrippina. She recorded the latter role in 2019 for Warner Classics, and the recording was nominated for a Grammy for »Best Opera Recording«.
 
Since 2021, Benoit has been working as a freelance artist. Her recent performances include roles in Philippe Hersant's Les Eclairs at the Opéra Comique in Paris, Handel's Alcina (Morgana) at the Palais Garnier in Paris, Carmen (Micaëla) in Toulouse, The Rake's Progress (Anne Trulove) in Rennes and Nantes, Handel's Agrippina (Poppea) in Munich, Handel's Semele (Semele) in Lille and Berlin (Komische Oper), and Poulenc's Les Mamelles de Tirésias (Thérèse) at the Glyndebourne Festival. In the past season, she appeared in Massenet's Werther (Sophie) in a new production by Robert Carsen under Thomas Hengelbrock and in the title role of Poppea in Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea in a new production by American director Ted Huffman under the baton of George Petrou at the Cologne Opera.
 
In the 2024/25 season, the soprano will make her debut in three significant roles: Susanna in Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro at the Semperoper Dresden, Sophie in Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier in Tokyo under Jonathan Nott, and Pamina in Mozart's The Magic Flute at the opera houses in Rennes, Nantes, and Angers.
 
Elsa Benoit is also highly sought after in the concert field. Highlights of recent seasons include performances with the Berlin Philharmonic in Mahler's Symphony No. 4 under Robin Ticciati and in Honegger's dramatic oratorio Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher under Alan Gilbert in Berlin, as well as Handel's Il Trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno (Bellezza) under Emmanuelle Haïm. Additionally, she performed in Mendelssohn's Lobgesang under Andris Nelsons with the Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig and at the Salzburg Festival under Herbert Blomstedt with the Vienna Philharmonic. Other performances included Fauré's Requiem under Andrew Manze with the Munich Philharmonic, Haydn's The Seasons under Hans-Christoph Rademann in Stuttgart, and Brahms's Requiem under Manfred Honeck.
 
In the 2024/25 season, significant concerts are scheduled, including Bruckner's Mass in F minor with the Orchestra La Scintilla in Zurich, Brahms's Requiem with the RSB Berlin under Vladimir Jurowski, Poulenc's Gloria with the Orchestre de Paris under Klaus Mäkelä, and Handel's Il Trionfo with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Emmanuelle Haïm.
 
For more information, please visit www.elsabenoit.com.