Dublin Song Series: Angela Brower and Dearbhla Collins

Angela Brower, mezzo-soprano
Dearbhla Collins, piano

Between the Lines is a chamber music series that explores storytelling, history, mythology, and the countless narratives that are told with and through music.

​​​​​​​Unsung brings us the second recital in this year’s Dublin Song Series, curated by Dearbhla Collins.  This performance spans two centuries of music that was hidden in drawers, buried in letters, or filed under someone else’s name, until now. Join us as we uncover these lost works.

Angela Brower

Hailed by The New York Times for her “plush, full sound, yet also youthful brightness,” American mezzo-soprano Angela Brower is one of the most sought-after lyric mezzo-sopranos of her generation. Renowned for her compelling artistry, musicality and versatility, she performs at the world’s leading opera houses, festivals and concert venues.

Particularly celebrated for her interpretations of Mozart and Strauss, Brower’s signature roles include Octavian (Der Rosenkavalier), Dorabella (Così fan tutte), Komponist (Ariadne auf Naxos), Annio (La clemenza di Tito), Nicklausse (Les Contes d’Hoffmann) and Cherubino (Le nozze di Figaro). Her international career has taken her to the Metropolitan Opera, Opéra national de Paris, Wiener Staatsoper, Bayerische Staatsoper, Royal Ballet & Opera, Salzburg Festival, Glyndebourne and Aix-en-Provence Festival.

The 2026/27 season sees Brower return to signature repertoire alongside major new challenges. She opens as Dorabella (Così fan tutte) with the Royal Northern Sinfonia and returns to Wiener Staatsoper as Octavian. She makes role debuts as Marguerite in Berlioz’s La damnation de Faust at Dutch National Opera and as Sesto in a new production of La clemenza di Tito at Palau de les Arts Valencia, alongside a concert tour with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra and a recital at the Tucson Desert Song Festival.

Brower’s acclaimed discography includes Deutsche Grammophon recordings of Mozart’s Così fan tutte and Le nozze di Figaro, both conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

Raised in Arizona, Brower studied at Arizona State University and Indiana University before launching her professional career at the Glimmerglass Opera Young American Artists Program in 2008. She subsequently joined the Bayerische Staatsoper Opera Studio and became a member of its ensemble from 2010–2016. Her acclaimed Dorabella at the National Theatre earned her the prestigious Munich Festival Prize in 2009.

Dearbhla Collins

Pianist Dearbhla Collins is vocal coach at the Royal Irish Academy of Music and also Artistic Consultant at the National Opera Studio, London. She is Artistic Director of the Veronica Dunne International Singing Competition.

She is highly regarded internationally as a song pianist; she enjoys collaborating with singers who have a real passion for song, among whom are Sir Thomas Allen, Sir Simon Keenlyside, Benjamin Appl, Tara Erraught and Anna Devin. These performances include recitals throughout Ireland, the UK and Europe. She has also toured the US with Tara Erraught and given masterclasses and recitals in Beijing, Shanghai and Wuhan in China.

Dearbhla founded Dublin Song Series in 2013 and continues to curate it in partnership with the National Concert Hall and the Hugh Lane Gallery. Recent 2024 recitals include concerts with Paul Murrihy and Anthony Leon.

Dearbhla is guest vocal coach at Mascarade Opera Studio, Florence and the Young Artist Programme at the National Opera House, Warsaw. She regularly plays for projects and masterclasses with Dame Ann Murray, Brigitte Fassbaender and Marie McLaughlin. She has given masterclasses at RNCM, Guildhall School of Music and Drama and Opera North, Leeds.

As Artistic Director of the Veronica Dunne International Singing Competition, Dearbhla has worked alongside such guest jury members as Richard Bonynge, Peter Carwell, Ileana Cotrubas, John Gilhooly, Sergei Leiferkus, Marie McLaughlin and Christina Scheppelmann.

Dearbhla was a member of the Board of the National Concert Hall, Dublin from 2010 – 2015, having previously served two terms on the Board of Culture Ireland. She is currently Chair of Pan Pan Theatre Company. In October 2017 Dearbhla was awarded an honorary doctorate for her services to music in Ireland from the National University of Ireland.

Presented by NCH