Biography

Ms. Meghnagi made impressive series of debuts at the world's most prestigious venues in 2007, with Les Arts Florissants and William Christie at their Jardin des Voix tour. Her performances were received by international critical acclaim, pointing her out as "the most promising singing of the evening" (The Guardian), her "radiant voice" and "silvery gleam" (The London Times) and her "inspired, luminous and carnal interpretation" (Altamusica France). For her performance at the Lincoln center the New York Times wrote "Claire Meghnagi had the most strikingly operatic sound, in terms of projection, power and suppleness, qualities she put to superb use in the Prologue from Monteverdi's 'Orfeo'..."

Ms. Meghnagi made her debut singing the role of Tullia in Bononcini's Il Trionfo di Camilla while still a student in Boston. Since 2007 she has been soloist at the Israeli Opera, where she performed Euridice (Gluck Orfeo ed Euridice) Despina (Cosi fan Tutte), La Bergere (Gluck's Armide), The Granddaughter (contemporary opera And the Rat Laughed), and more. Other roles performed in Israel include Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Night/the Plaint/ Chinese woman (The Fairy Queen). For the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, she sang first innocent (cover) at the world premiere of Sir H. Birtwistle's The Minotaur.

Her operatic repertoire includes Susanna (Le Nozze di Figaro), Ilia (Idomeneo), Pamina (Die Zauberflöte),Despina (Cosi fan Tutte), Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Euridice (Orfeo ed Euridice), Cleopatra (Giulio Cesare in Egitto), Galatea (Acis&Galatea), Aci (Aci Galatea e Polifemo), Almirena (Rinaldo), Morgana (Alcina), Dorinda (Orlando), Norina (Don Pasquale), Soeur Constance (Les Dialogues des Carmelites), Anne Trulove (The Rake's Progress). On the concert platform, she performed with some of the world's leading orchestras including Les Arts Florissnats, the Israeli Philharmonic orchestra, WNO orchestra, Wiener Akademie, Retrospect Ensemble, Israel Camerata, Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, and The Israeli Symphony Orchestra under conductors including William Christie, Laurence Cummings, Paul Daniel, Asher Fisch, Dan Ettinger, Omer M. Welber, Andrew Parrott, John Nelson and Matthew Halls. Claire's performances have taken her to the Lincoln Center, Barbican center, Finnish National Opera, Frankfurt's Alte Oper, Paris' Opera Comique and Cite de la Musique, Palais de Beaux-Arts in Brussels, Auditorio Nacional de Madrid, Lisbonne's Gulbenkian, Vienna's Musikverein, Berlin's Philharmonie, Aix-en-Provence festival (Académie Européenne de musique), Theatre de Caen, Hill Auditorium in Ann Arbor, the Israel Festival, Felicja Blumental and Abu-Gohsh festivals.

Highlights for 2012/13 include debut at the Estonian National Opera in Tallinn as Cleopatra, and role debuts as Rosina (Il Barbiere di Seviglia) and Pamina (Die Zauberflöte) in Israel. Concerts include debut with the Bremer Philharmoniker singing Beethoven's Schauspielmusik zu Egmont, return to the Berliner Symphoniker to sing Mozart Exsultate Jubilate at the Philharmonie, Bach Matthaeus Passion with the Israel Kibbutz Orchestra, Haydn Die Schöpfung and Handel Dixit Dominus with the Israeli Chamber Orchestra, more performances of The Infernal Comedy alongside John Malkovich at the Eilat Chamber Music Festival, return to the Israel Festival for title role in Handel's Esther, debut at the Miami beach Tropical Baroque Festival with Fuoco e Cenere, Penderecki Credo with Estonia Symphony Orchestra as well as Villa Lobos Bachianas Brasilieras no.5 with the cellists of the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra, among others. Plans also include recitals in Israel alongside her husband cellist Zvi Orlianski.

In 2011/ 2012 ms. Meghnagi made sensational debut as Cleopatra (Giulio Cesare in Egitto) at the Finnish National Opera in Helsinki, receiving great international critical acclaim. She also made successful return to the Israeli Opera as Euridice (Orfeo ed Euridice). In concert she made debut at the Philharmonie hall in Berlin performing Mahler 4^th Symphony as well as New Year's Gala concerts in Bad Kissingen with the Berliner Symphoniker under the baton of Lior Shambadal. She also performed in M. Sturminger's The Infernal Comedy alongside Hollywood star John Malkovich on tour in the USA; returned to the Eilat Chamber Music Festival to perform Mozart's C minor Mass and to the Israeli Opera to perform Bach and Vivaldi Magnificats. Season concluded with return to the Voice of Music in the upper Galilee festival as Night/The Plaint in a new production of Purcell's Fairy Queen.

Engagements for 2010/11 included her Austrian debut in the title role of Galatea (Acis and Galatea) with the Wiener Akademie conducted by Martin Haselböck at the Burgarena Reinsberg festspiele, and Aci (Aci, Galatea e Polifemo) with Les Arts Florissants with Jonathan Cohen on tour in France. Concerts included her Musikverein debut with the Wiener Akademie performing The Messiah, her debut in Northern Ireland performing the same piece with the Ulster Orchestra, both under the baton of Martin Haselböck, Israel in Egypt at the Israeli Opera under David Stern and Bach's Mass in B Minor under Andrew Parrott. She made her debut at the Eilat Chamber Music Festival that season with the Venetian Masque project alongside renowned mandolin artist Avi Avital.

In 2009/2010 she made her Wigmore Hall debut singing Night/the Plaint/Chinese woman in The Fairy Queen with the Retrospect Ensemble and Matthew Halls, in a production that was also performed on tour in Israel with Ensemble Barrocade. Concert included 30 years Gala of Les Arts Florissants/ W. Christie at the Opera Comique (recorded for MEZZO), Handel's Alexander's feast with Jerusalem Baroque, Bach cantatas BWV 202,199 with Israel Chamber Orchestra, Judas Maccabaeus and Mozart Exsultate Jubilate with Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra at the Israeli Opera, and Gala concerts with The Israeli Kibbutz Orchestra and the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra.

Daughter of Italian cantor Isacco Meghnagi, she has particular interest in the traditional Jewish music of North Africa. She premiered works written for her by Israeli composers Oded Zehavi, Ella Milch-Sheriff, Gil Shohat and Israeli premiere of renowned Italian composer Luca Lombardi.

Ms. Meghnagi was recorded for the BBC, MEZZO, ARTE, France3 and the Israeli Broadcasting Authority. She is featured in the French TV documentary film Baroque Académie which won numerous prizes in 2008.

Claire Meghnagi graduated from the Rubin Academy of Music in Tel Aviv, and continued her studies in Boston and New York. Winner of numerous prizes and awards, in 2009 she represented Israel in the prestigious BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition with great success. She received scholarships from the America- Israel cultural foundation, the Israel Vocal Arts Institute, the Annie Sankey bursary of the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition, and IMERYS.