Soprano Meredith Hansen has been hailed as a “standout” by the Boston Herald and as “a real find” by Opera (UK). She has been praised for her “creamy tone” (Boston Globe) and “ravishing” performances (Boston Musical Intelligencer) on opera and concert stages around the world. 

Hansen’s brilliant lyric soprano is matched by the instincts of a true singing actress. Opera News called her performance as Beatrice in Boston Lyric Opera’s production of The Inspector both “moving” and “beautiful,” while Boston Musical Intelligencer wrote, “The real vocal star of this production is Meredith Hansen singing Beatrice, a serious character (with corresponding writing) in a comic work. Hansen demonstrated her mastery of both serious and comic genres in this role.

Hansen’s 2019-20 season opens with Symphony New Hampshire’s Opera Gala (James Orent, conductor) where she will perform selections from La Traviata, Rusalka and La Bohème.  Spring 2020 sees Hansen performing Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis with Atlanta Master Chorale, (Dr. Eric Nelson, conductor) and Mendelssohn’s Elijah with Back Bay Chorale, Boston (Scott Allen Jarrett, conductor).

Hansen joined the Metropolitan Opera roster in 2012 for their productions of Carmen, Das Rheingold and Götterdämmerung and returned to the Met for Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, Prince Igor and Francesca Zambello’s Cyrano de Bergerac.

A fixture in Boston’s classical music scene, Hansen regularly performs with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. In 2014 she made her BSO debut (at Tanglewood) as soloist in Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy (covering the 9th Symphony as well) and most recently sang in Strauss’ Elektra at Boston Symphony Hall with a repeat performance at Carnegie Hall. Hansen was a Boston Lyric Opera Emerging Artist and has performed often with the company in recent seasons in both mainstage and concert productions, with roles including First Lady in The Magic Flute, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, Beatrice in the Inspector and Gretel in Hansel and Gretel.

As her voice has blossomed and evolved, Hansen’s repertoire has also grown to include Mimi, Norma and Luisa Miller in addition to seasoned favorites like Countess in Marriage of Figaro.  These new roles were on display in a concert of arias with Boston Bel Canto Opera and in her performance as Frasquita in Carmenwith the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra.

In 2018, She performed as Soprano soloist in the Verdi Requiem with Landmarks Orchestra at the iconic Boston Hatch Memorial Shell, earning this praise from the Boston Musical Intelligencer: “Meredith Hansen was particularly memorable in the concluding Libera me shaping the frantic, sotto voce chants that open the movement with the same care and poise as the triumphant high c that glistened so cleanly in the movement’s climax.” 

Other Boston appearances have included performances as Suzel/Serafina in L’Amico Fritz/Campanello with Boston Midsummer Opera; Gilda with the Newton Symphony Orchestra; Countess and Rosalinde with Opera by the Bay and Miss Silverpeal in Mozart’s The Impresario with MetroWest Opera (now MassOpera).

Other recent standout operatic performances have included a performance as Musetta in La Bohème with Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre that was deemed “sonorous” by the Cedar Rapids Gazette; and the opportunity to step in at the last minute as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni with Opera in Williamsburg. In addition to performing Les Contes d’Hoffmann with the Longwood Opera and in Street Scene with Maine Grand Opera, Hansen has also appeared in concert as a featured soloist with the Asheville Lyric Opera and the Opera Theatre of Connecticut at the Sanibel Music Festival.

Her oratorio appearances have included performances of Elijah with the Boston Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos at Carnegie Hall; Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Bozeman and Greensboro Symphonies; Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis with the Quincy Choral Society and the Tallahassee Community Chorus; Carmina Burana with the Charlotte Symphony; Poulenc’s Gloria  and Vaughan Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem with the Plymouth Philharmonic; Mozart’s Missa Brevis and an opera recital in Aiken, SC;  Verdi’s Requiem with the Paul Madore Chorale, and Messiah with Commonwealth Opera.

A Richard Tucker Foundation Career Grant nominee, Ms. Hansen was chosen for the final rounds of the 45th Annual Francisco Viñas Singing Contest in Barcelona, Spain, and awarded First Place in the Charles Lynam Competition, the Violetta DuPont Vocal Competition, and the Opera Birmingham Competition (where she was also selected as the Audience Favorite). She has been a Regional Semi-Finalist and Regional Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions; was the 2010 recipient of the Stephen Shrestinian Award for Excellence from Boston Lyric Opera; and has received grant support from the Gerda Lissner Foundation.

Originally from Cohasset, MA, Ms. Hansen received her undergraduate training at The University of Connecticut, her master’s degree from Boston University, and spent a year of post-graduate study at the Opera Institute at Boston University.