Canadian soprano SIMONE OSBORNE has been hailed as "a joy to hear" (Los Angeles Times) with "a sweet and clear sound, sensitive phrasing and gleaming sustained high notes" (New York Times). Ms. Osborne was one of the youngest winners of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and recently completed her tenure as a member of the Canadian Opera Company Studio Ensemble.

In the 2012 – 2013 season, Simone Osborne debuted at Opera Hamilton as Gilda in Rigoletto and returned to Vancouver Opera as Pamina in Die Zauberflöte. Ms. Osborne also debuts with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Gustavo Dudamel as Barbarina in Christopher Alden‘s production of Le nozze di Figaro and at Carnegie Hall with pianist Warren Jones as a part of the Marilyn Horne Song Celebration. She also took part in a special project with Lotfi Mansouri entitled Viva Verdi! in Zurich to celebrate the composer‘s bicentennial. The summer of 2012 saw her debut at the Saito Kinen Festival in Honegger‘s Jeanne d’Arc au bûcher as Marguerite under the guidance of Seiji Ozawa.

Next season, Ms. Osborne returns to the Canadian Opera Company as Oscar in Un ballo in maschera and as Musetta in La bohème. She will also debut with the Vancouver Symphony singing orchestral songs of Richard Strauss and as soprano soloist in Beethoven‘s Symphony No. 9. As first winner of Jeunesses Musicales Canada‘s new Maureen Forrester Award, Ms. Osborne will tour Canada in recital with pianist Anne Larlee. Future seasons will see her return to the Canadian Opera Company and Vancouver Opera, as well as debut with New York City Opera and Edmonton Opera.

Ms. Osborne made her role debut as Gilda in Christopher Alden‘s production of Rigoletto and returned for Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi conducted by Sir Andrew Davis, both at the Canadian Opera Company in the 2011 – 2012 season. She also made her Vancouver Opera debut as Juliette in Roméo et Juliette to great critical acclaim. In concert, she made her Toronto Symphony debut in Mozart‘s Requiem under music director Peter Oundjian, was soprano soloist in the Victoria Symphony‘s New Year‘s Day Viennese Gala, and toured Canada in recital presented by Debut Atlantic Recital Series.

Ms. Osborne sang Pamina in Die Zauberflöte for her first major assignment with the COC. This production was conducted by music director Johannes Debus and directed by Tony Award-winning director Diane Paulus. She was also seen in productions of Death in Venice, Ariadne auf Naxos, and Orfeo ed Euridice. As first year member of the COC Ensemble, Ms. Osborne performed the role of Ilia in the ensemble performance of Idomeneo under the baton of Harry Bicket. She was also seen as Frasquita in Carmen, Anne Kennedy in Maria Stuarda, and Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia on tour, as well as a performance of the Pribaoutki songs in the premiere of Robert Lepage's The Nightingale and Other Short Fables.                                                                                                                                                         

An active recitalist, Ms. Osborne was heard in recital as a part of the Marilyn Horne Foundation's "On Wings of Song" recital series, as well as a solo recital for the Hong Kong Arts Festival in the spring of 2010. She also joined the Edmonton Symphony for performances of Bach's Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen and Mozart's Exsultate, jubilate. Previous operatic roles include Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro), Nannetta (Falstaff), Gretel (Hänsel und Gretel), Musetta (La bohème), Atalanta (Serse), Mignon (Mignon), Mařenka (The Bartered Bride), Candace Brenner (A Wedding), Laetitia (The Old Maid and the Thief), Papagena (Die Zauberflöte) and Emma Jung in the world premiere of the Canadian opera The Dream Healer.

Along with the 2008 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, Ms. Osborne was the 2008 winner of the Marilyn Horne Foundation Competition at the Music Academy of the West, the 2007 winner of the International Czech and Slovak Opera Competition and a prizewinner at the George London Foundation Competition, Palm Beach Opera Competition, Sylva Gelber Foundation, and Jaqueline Desmarais Foundation.