CHRISTINE LYONS
SOPRANO
BIOGRAPHY
Christine Lyons is a soprano recognized for her vocal agility, dramatic command, and interpretive nuance. Hailed as “a true virtuosa” (Broadway World) and “a voice rich in nuances” (Pro Ópera), she has been described as possessing “a voice blossoming down into its depths” (The New York Times). She brings clarity and emotional precision to some of opera’s most complex heroines.
In the 2025–26 season, Lyons sings the title role of Lucia di Lammermoor with Berkshire Opera Festival and appears with the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra in concert. These engagements follow recent solo appearances at Carnegie Hall and national cultural galas, including events for President Joe Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden and the United Nations.
A specialist in bel canto repertoire, particularly of Donizetti and Bellini, Lyons has inhabited the title roles in Lucia di Lammermoor, La Straniera, and Norma, as well as Adina in L’elisir d’amore, Norina in Don Pasquale, Giulietta in I Capuleti e i Montecchi, Lucrezia Borgia and Anna Bolena in excerpts, and Amenaide in Rossini’s Tancredi. In her portrayal of Alaïde, Opera Magazine noted that Lyons “excelled in her blistering final cabaletta in which she, like a Donizetti heroine headed for the block, curses fate and welcomes death,” and delivered a “dramatically charged portrayal,” underscoring her command of this demanding repertoire.
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Lyons headlined the title role of Agrippina with Florida Grand Opera and the Governess in The Turn of the Screw with IlluminArts Miami, with additional featured seasons at San Francisco Opera. She has drawn acclaim for her vivid portrayals as Musetta in La Bohème with Knoxville Opera, Liù in Turandot, Suor Angelica, and Madama Butterfly with Baltimore Opera. Her portrayal of Cio-Cio San was praised for “an impressive range of emotions, all personified by her soaring soprano” (Maryland Theater Guide).
As a concert soloist, Lyons has performed Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Rossini’s Stabat Mater, Mozart’s Exsultate, jubilate, and Vaughan Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem, with featured appearances at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and Lincoln Center. She was an artist at the Ravinia Steans Music Institute and later toured with the program, including a featured performance at the Tucson Desert Song Festival. She has also appeared with Lyric Fest at the Academy of Vocal Arts.
Lyons is a 2025 Princess Grace Award winner, and has been recognized by the Gerda Lissner Foundation, Vocal Arts DC, the Washington International Competition, and the Mary Trueman Art Song Competition. Her work has been featured by WWFM Classical Radio and profiled in Opera News, Opera Magazine (London), New York Classical Review, Musical America, and The New York Times. She is based in the United States and Europe.
Current as of August 8, 2025
CRITICAL ACCLAIM
"...dramatically charged..." – Opera Magazine (London)
La Straniera – “...dramatically charged portrayal of Alaide; Lyons excelled in her blistering final cabaletta, in which she, like a Donizetti heroine headed for the block, curses fate and welcomes death.”
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"...a generously scaled lyric soprano..." – Opera News
Tancredi – “a generously scaled lyric soprano, her rapid vibrato adding lushness to the tone.”
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"...a true virtuosa..." – Broadway World
Norma – “She’s a true virtuosa, dazzling us with her mastery of all those Bel Canto coloratura fireworks—all the runs, trills and staccato arpeggios and cadenzas that decorate the long, free-ranging melody lines.”
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“...her voice soared..." – OperaWire
La Straniera – “her voice soared to its maximum potential, expressing fury and madness.”
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“Intense and soulful..." – Musical America
La Straniera – “Intense and soulful, this was a tragic Straniera from the start, her final aria ‘Sono all’ara’ crowning a performance of real stature."
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"...her voice blossom[s] down into its depths..." – The New York Times
La Straniera – “The soprano Christine Lyons, as Alaide, the melancholy stranger of the title of Bellini’s opera…her voice blossoming down into its depths.”
REPRESENTATIVES
General