"...displayed an evenly produced voice with an attractive timbre and caught the mood of the role exactly. The same held true for Carleen Ebbs (Gilda) who revealed her agility and warm tone in the coloratura, as well as a well-sculpted messa di voce and intense, delicate diminuendos." Opera Magazine, Dec 2010

Soprano Carleen Ebbs studied at the Cardiff International Academy of Voice under
Dennis O’Neill, The Guildhall School of Music & Drama gaining a Masters of Music with
Distinction, and The New Zealand School of Music at Victoria University of Wellington.
Based in London Carleen studies with Sally Silver.

Carleen has appeared in recital and opera at The Wigmore Hall, St Martin’s in the Fields,
The Princess Alexandra Hall for ROSL Arts, with The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra,
for Longborough Festival Opera, The Barga Opera Festival in Tuscany, The Fishguard
International Music Festival, in The 2011 Grimeborn Festival, at St David’s Hall in Cardiff,
at The Buxton Opera House, with Opera de Bauge France, for ANZAC Day Services at
Passchendaele Belgium, NBR NZ Opera, Opera a la Carte London, Opera Victoria,
Opera in Space and in concert with Opera Box UK. In March 2013, Carleen joins
English National Opera for their productions of La Boheme, Death in Venice,
The Perfect American, and Wozzeck.

A keen performer of Oratorio and Baroque repertoire, Carleen has given recitals in the
2012 London Handel Festival, and performed with the London Handel Orchestra,
Bristol Ensemble and Southern Pro Musica, and performed as a soprano soloist with choirs throughout the UK and NZ.

Carleen's oratorio experience as a soloist includes Bach's St Matthew Passion and St John Passion; Charpentier's Te Deum, Faure's Requiem; Handel's Judas Maccabaeus, The Messiah and excerpts from Dixit Dominus, Karl Jenkins' Requiem; Mendelssohn's Lauda Sion and Elijah; Haydn's Nelson Mass; Mozart's Mass in C Minor, Coronation Mass and Requiem; John Rutter's Requiem; Schubert's Mass in G and Vivaldi's Gloria. Carleen has a wide ranging chamber music repertoire from Vivaldi to Kurt Weill. Operatic roles include Belinda, Susanna, Erste Dame, Madama Gilda (Donizetti's L'ajo nell'imbarazzo), Queen of the Night (cover), Gilda (cover), Morgana, Frasquita, Countess Ceprano, Barbarina, 1st Boy, and excerpts from the roles of Adina, Pamina, Sophie, Semiramide, Lady Penelope, Despina, Blondchen, Norina, Sofie, and Oscar.

Carleen was a finalist in the 2011 London Handel Competition (2010 semi finalist), a finalist in the 2008 Thelma King Award for Singers in the UK, awarded Most Promising Finalist in the Wellington Regional Aria, finalist Lockwood Aria NZ in 2004 and a nominee in the New Zealand Young Performer of the Year Award. Carleen was awarded a 2010 Arts Excellence Award by the Dame Malvina Major Foundation. Previous awards to support her training include the 2006 Victoria University Bank of New Zealand Post Graduate Scholarship. Study in NZ was assisted by a Mary McHardy Study Grant and a Victoria University Study Grant. Carleen is grateful to Sir Pat and Lady Hillary Goodman, John and Janice Paynter, Clemenger BBDO Wellington NZ, and The Deane Endowment Trust NZ.

In masterclasses recently Carleen has had the pleasure of working with Richard Bonynge, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Carlo Rizzi, Dame Josephine Barstowe, June Anderson, Montserrat Caballe, Sheri Greenawald, Mark Morash, Della Jones and David Syrus.

Please see the news/diary page for up to date performances.