Nadine Benjamin

Nadine Benjamin
MBE
Born
Nadine Rohanda Smith

Brixton, London, England
Other namesNadine Rohanda Smith Wray Willow Benjamin
Nadine Mortimer-Smith
EducationSt Martin-in-the-Fields High School for Girls
OccupationOpera singer

Nadine Rohanda Smith Wray Willow Benjamin MBE is a British lyric soprano singer.[1][2]

She was born Nadine Rohanda Smith[3] in Brixton, south London, of Jamaican-Indian heritage.[1] Leaving St Martin-in-the-Fields High School for Girls when she was 16, she joined the Youth Training Scheme, which led to her working with a corporate finance company in the City for seven years.[4] Realising that she wanted to be a singer, she attended Tech Music School in west London, before deciding to focus on opera.[4]

Benjamin was the recipient of a Voice of Black Opera Award for the most promising voice, and subsequently set up a mentoring agency called Everybody Can![5]

She was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2021 Birthday Honours for services to opera.[6]

  1. ^ a b Jury, Louise (30 October 2014), "Singer who quit City stars in slave trade opera", London Evening Standard.
  2. ^ Byrne, John (12 April 2016), "My First Audition: Nadine Benjamin", The Stage. Archived from the original on 21 January 2019. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  3. ^ Nadine Rohanda Smith Genes Reunited birth detail. Retrieved 15 March 2022
  4. ^ a b Browne, Malika (23 February 2018), "Nadine Benjamin: ‘I’m hungry to be a great singer’", The Times.
  5. ^ Roberts, Maddy Shaw (28 June 2018), "‘I quit banking to become an opera singer’ – rising star Nadine Benjamin", Classic FM.
  6. ^ "No. 63377". The London Gazette (Supplement). 12 June 2021. p. B15.