British Soprano Stephanie Hershaw is a soloist ensemble member at the Oldenburgisches Staatstheater. In the 2024/25 season, Stephanie looks forward to performing a diverse range of roles, including Ännchen (Der Freischütz), Romilda (Xerxes), Gretel (Hänsel und Gretel), Governess (The Turn of the Screw) and the title role in The Cunning Little Vixen.
Stephanie recently made her house debut with Garsington Opera, reprising the role of Barbarina (Le nozze di Figaro). She also covered and made her role debut as Susanna in Garsington’s OperaFirst performance of Le nozze di Figaro with the Philharmonia Orchestra. Further expanding her international experience, Stephanie made her house and role debut as Lenio in The Greek Passion with the Danish National Opera.
A dynamic and versatile performer, Stephanie recently stepped in at short notice for a performance of Xerxes at the Stadttheater Passau. She was also honoured with a Theaterpreis for her work at the Landestheater Detmold, where she was a member of the Opernstudio for two seasons. Additionally, she was invited to participate in the Neue Stimmen: Masterclass Series (2023/24). Stephanie has also been selected as an Orpheus Foundation Artist 2024.
In the 2022/23 season, Stephanie made a series of notable role debuts, including Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Romilda (Xerxes), Marie (Frau Luna), Zwangsarbeiterin (Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk) and Kate Pinkerton (Madame Butterfly). She also made her debut with West Green House Opera as Suzanne in Offenbach’s Robinson Crusoe.
The 2021/22 season saw Stephanie take on diverse roles such as Celia (Silla) with Northern Opera Group, Najade (Ariadne auf Naxos), Flora (The Turn of the Screw), Barbarina (Le Nozze di Figaro) and Carlotta (Bär) – a new work inspired by Cavalli’s La Calisto – at the Landestheater Detmold.
Stephanie holds a Master’s degree with First Class Honours from the Royal College of Music, London, where she was generously supported by the Midori Nishiura scholarship. Prior to this, Stephanie studied at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama and the Hochschule für Musik und Theatre Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy.
Stephanie was a Leeds Lieder Young Artist in 2019 and a Countess of Munster Recital Artist for both 2019-20 and 2020-21. Other notable performances include Amore (L’Egisto) with Hampstead Garden Opera, Papagena (The Magic Flute) with Waterperry Opera Festival, Virtue (The Choice of Hercules) with Benslow Music, and Lauretta (Gianni Schicchi) with St Paul’s Opera.
Last summer, Stephanie performed as a soloist in a series of recitals, including a collaboration with The Brodsky Quartet at the Dante Music Festival. She was also invited to give a recital at the Leicester Music Festival.
In addition to her stage performances, Stephanie was featured in Rick Stein’s Cornwall: Series 2 on the BBC, which aired on BBC Two in January 2022.
During her time at conservatoire, Stephanie performed a variety of operatic roles in staged scenes at the Britten Theatre, including Seleuce (Tolomeo), Bellezza (L’Egisto) and Zima (Les Indes Galantes). With Opera D’draigg, she took on the roles of Tiny (Paul Bunyan) and Second Niece (Peter Grimes) Stephanie was also invited to perform in a masterclass as part of the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Fringe Events, where she sang Frasquita in scenes from Carmen.
Stephanie has achieved success in numerous competitions, including 1st prize in Flat Pack Music's Opera Competition (2021), a Maureen Lehan Finalist & Prize Winner (2021), a Bundeswettbewerb Gesang Berlin Finalist (2022), a Camille Coloratura Finalist (2020), a London Handel Competition Semi-Finalist (2019) and a Concours Corneille Semi-Finalist (2019).