BIOGRAPHY
Canadian-Bulgarian mezzo-soprano Adanya Dunn (she/her) made her American debut as Hermia in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream with the Santa Fe Opera in 2021 as an Apprentice Artist, conducted by Harry Bicket and directed by Netia Jones. In 2022, Adanya performed in concerts with the Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France conducted by Barbara Hannigan: in Ravel’s Trois poèmes de Mallarmé and in Mozart’s Requiem both in Paris and in Aix-en-Provence as part of the Festival de Pâques. Adanya is a 2022 member of Hannigan’s Equilibrium Young Artists.
From June 2-4, 2023, Adanya will make her Canadian Opera Company debut as Suzie in a world premiere opera Pomegranate composed by Kye Marshall with a libretto by Amanda Hale, and is conducted by Rosemary Thomson and directed by Jennifer Tarver. The story centers queer narratives, as two young women, Suzie and Cass struggle to repair their love in the face of homophobia and an impossible ultimatum, fragments of memory endure, revealing a transcendent love for the ages. The timeline takes place in Ancient Pompeii 79 AD, and in 1981 Toronto, at a lesbian bar in the aftermath of the infamous Bathhouse Raids.
In 2022, Adanya was the winner of the Bita Cattelan Philanthropic Engagement Award from the Concours international de Montreal and the winner of Vancouver Opera Guild‘s Career Development Grant. Previous awards include: winner of the 2021 Sylva Gelber Music Foundation Award, the 2020/21 recipient of the Hnatyshyn Foundation Developing Artist Grant, Michigan Winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions 2020, and a three-time grant recipient from the Canada Council for the Arts.
During the 2020/21 season, Adanya debuted at the Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ in December 2020 in the Jonge Grote Zangers series in an in-person and livestreamed recital from the Grote Zaal with baritone Rolfe Dauz and pianist Nathalie Doucet, and performed a concert tour in the Netherlands with Irish pianist Seán Morgan-Rooney in their POPARTSONG Duo, showcasing popular and art music styles through original compositions and arrangements.
A versatile performer, her 2019/20 season included highlights from Mozart’s Così fan tutte as Dorabella with the Bergen Symphony Orkest, Sesto in Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito with the Conservatorium van Amsterdam, Berio’s Sequenza III at Belgium’s Festival 20/21 with the New European Ensemble, and various concerts in Amsterdam’s Dutch National Opera and Het Concertgebouw.
Adanya is an alumna of Dawn Upshaw’s Graduate Vocal Arts Program, Marilyn Horne’s Music Academy of West, the Rebanks Family Fellowship & International Residency at the Glenn Gould School, and the University of Toronto. Adanya was named by the CBC as one of Canada’s “Top 30 Hot Classical Musicians Under 30” and was featured in The Globe & Mail as one of six Canadian women who are “turning opera on its head and making the future bright for the art form”. Adanya studies with Don Marrazzo.
Born and raised in Toronto, she was a resident performer and producer with the interdisciplinary arts collective FAWN Chamber Creative and was the Co-Founder of the innovative chamber music series The Happenstancers. Adanya has performed with companies such as Against the Grain Theatre, Soundstreams, the Luminato Festival, Tapestry Opera, and the Canadian Music Centre. Through consistent collaboration with composers, librettists, and collectives, Adanya has premiered over 200 works.
In August 2020, Adanya founded Red Light Arts & Culture (RLAC) in Amsterdam, a not-for-profit foundation that connects local entrepreneurs, professional musicians and artists, and site-specific locations, promoting and adding to the rich cultural diversity of the Red Light District. For this project, she was a 2021 Music Academy of the West’s Alumni Enterprise Awards.
Adanya is represented by Dean Artists Management.
In addition to performing, Adanya mentors young musicians and maintains an active vocal teaching and coaching studio. Adanya composes classical and electronic music, writes poetry, paints watercolour, and practices/performs pole dance, burlesque, contact dance, and dance improvisation. Her wholesome, everyday-life comedy content, has attracted over 10 million views and a follower base of 8,000+ over on TikTok. She has done various social media collaborations with Equilibrium Young Artists, Santa Fe Opera, Manitoba Opera, Opera Canada, RLAC, and the NY Phil. She is a 500hr yoga teacher and is completing a multi-year Alexander Technique-based Yoga Teacher Training certification.
Adanya Dunn © 2023
Adanya Dunn © 2023