Sylvia O'Brien
Professor of Voice
Dr. Sylvia O’Brien is a distinguished Irish soprano renowned for her exceptional vocal artistry and versatile repertoire. She began her musical journey studying piano at the age of six at the College of Music in Dublin, later pursuing advanced studies that led to her doctorate in vocal performance. Her critically acclaimed debut as the Governess in Britten’s The Turn of the Screw marked the beginning of a distinguished career. Dr O’Brien has appeared with major orchestras and opera companies throughout Ireland and internationally, earning acclaim for her interpretations of both classical and contemporary works. Her repertoire is notably diverse, encompassing works from Baroque to modern, with particular acclaim for her interpretations of contemporary vocal music.
Significant performances include Feldman’s Neither with the Helsinki Philharmonic, Crumb's Apparition (New Music Dublin Festival) Vivier's Lonely Child with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, Bach’s Die Schuldigkeit des Erstens Gebots (Norddeuschter Rundfunks Orchester), Gerald Barry’s The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (recording and premiere with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland), Shostakovich Blok Songs Opus 107 with the Syrius Trio at Carnegie Hall, Verdi’s Requiem (Ulster Orchestra).
Beyond her performance career, Dr O'Brien is Professor of Voice at the RIAM with proven track record teaching undergraduate, master and doctoral students. Her contributions to the field extend to conferences, workshops and lectures on vocal technique and interpretation.
'Implications of Collaboration: The Recreative Artist and Autoethnographic Research in Seóirse Bodley's Never to Have Lived is Best (1965)' (DMusPerf Dissertation, Royal Irish Academy of Music, 2021)
'Text and Melody in Seóirse Bodley's The Hiding Places of Love', paper presented at Society for Musicology Ireland Plenary Conference, Maynooth University, 30 June 2019
'The Relevance of Collaboration: Elevating the Creative and Recreative Artist', The Royal Irish Academy of Music, 28 May 2018
'Seóirse Bodley: The Architect of Melody', The Royal Irish Academy of Music, 12 March 2018
'Melodic Form in Seóirse Bodley's Vocal Works', Colloquial Series, Bewerung Room, Logic House, Maynooth University, 23 February 2018
Masterclass of Artist in Residence TCD: 'A Contemporary Voice: An Exploration of Vocal Writing of the 20th and 21st Centuries', Boydell Room, Trinity College Dublin, 31 January 2018
'Melody, text and compositional styles in Brian Boydell’s vocal works with solo voice', paper presented at Brian Boydell Centenary Conference, Society for Musicology in Ireland, at the Royal Irish Academy of Music & Trinity College Dublin, 23 June 2017
‘The Bodleian Melody: An Investigation of Melodic Structure in Vocal Works by Seóirse Bodley’ , paper presented at Doctors in Performance, Second Festival Conference of Music Performance and Artistic Research, Royal Irish Academy of Music, Dublin, 8-9 September 2016