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The American soprano, Laura Claycomb, studied at Highland Park High School (1982-1986). She obtained both her Bachelors degree in Foreign Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics and her Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance from Southern Methodist University (1986-1990). Early in her career, she earned the Silver Medal at the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, the Pegasus Prize at Spoleto Festival in Italy, the Operetta Prize at the Belvedere Competition in Vienna, and first prize in the National Opera Association Competition in the USA.
Laura Claycomb began her career as an Adler Fellow at San Francisco Opera (1991-1994), where she performed over a dozen roles including Papagena in W.A. Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos, and Marie in La fille du régiment. She first captured international attention at the age of 24, when she assumed the role of Giulietta in Bellini’s I Capuleti e i Montecchi at the Grand Théâtre de Genève. She has since sung Giulietta with the Bastille Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Pittsburgh Opera and the Bayerischer Rundfunk Symphonieorchester in Munich. Since her meteoric rise to prominence, she has proven herself to be an exceptionally versatile soprano, performing more than 75 roles in dozens of works by composers from Monteverdi to Messiaen.
Laura Claycomb has firmly established herself as one of the finest operatic coloratura sopranos of her generation, best known for her ethereal high notes, impeccable musicianship, and dramatic stage presence. She has appeared repeatedly with the Paris Opera, San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Théâtre de la Monnaie, the London Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, Le Concert d'Astrée, and Cleveland Orchestra. Further career highlights range from engagements at the Salzburg Festival and the Lucerne Festival, to the BBC Proms and the title role of Linda di Chamounix at Teatro alla Scala in Milan.
In recent years, Laura Claycomb performed her signature roles of Gilda in Rigoletto with Dallas Opera (earning her the Dallas Opera’s Maria Callas Debut Artist Award) and Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos with the Houston Grand Opera, Konstanze in W.A. Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail at the Grand Théâtre de Genève and with Sebastian Weigle at the Berlin Staatsoper Unter den Linden, the title role in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor with Pittsburgh Opera and in Tel Aviv with Daniel Oren conducting, Romilda in George Frideric Handel's Serse with Houston Grand Opera, the heroines in Offenbach’s Les contes d’Hoffmann in Moscow, and Anne Trulove in Igor Stravinsky's The Rake’s Progress in Lyon, Brussels, and the Opéra National de Paris.
In the 2013-2014 season Laura Claycomb made her Glyndebourne debut as Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos with music director Vladimir Jurowski conducting, which was released on DVD/BlueRay. Additionally, she sang her first Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflöte and W.A. Mozart's Der Schauspieldirektor with the Bregenz Festival, reprised her Adele in Die Fledermaus at Houston Grand Opera, returned to the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra for Carmina Burana and to the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra for L.v. Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, debuted the role of the Czarina of Shemakha in Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's The Golden Cockerel with Bergen Opera, and returned to the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra in Lutoslawski’s Chantefleurs et Chantefables with Lionel Bringuier.
The 2014-2015 season saw Laura Claycomb as Amina in La sonnambula at the Bolshoi Theater, concert engagements with the Oregon Symphony and Palermo Opera for Carmina Burana, Mercury Baroque in a performance with David Daniels, as Lucia di Lammermoor with New Orleans Opera, Cunegonde in Leonard Bernstein's Candide with Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, and in Giovanni Battista Pergolesi's Stabat Mater with Maestra Speranza Scapucci, likewise in Florence. 2015-2016 season saw her as Tytania with the Bergen National Opera, as Ophélie in a concert version of Hamlet in Moscow, as well as Strauss’ Brentano Lieder with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra and Michael Tilson-Thomas, the title role in the world premiere of Lori Laitman’s The Scarlet Letter and galas in Israel.
2016-2017 season found Laura Claycomb in Beijing, China as Tytania in Benjamin Britten's A Midsummer Night’s Dream, in Geneva as Malwina in Marschner’s Der Vampyr, in concerts led by Emmanuelle Haïm with Le Concert d'Astrée at Paris’ Théâtre des Champs-Elysées and with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra in Disney Hall, as well as in Leonard Bernstein's Symphony No. 3 (Kaddish) with Marin Alsop and the London Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican. 2018 and beyond finds her in Dallas for her first Donna Anna in W.A. Mozart's Don Giovanni, in Paris for Stabat Maters by Scarlatti and G.B. Pergolesi's with Speranza Scappucci and Il Pomo d'Oro, in Israel for Mozart with Alexander Bernstein and the Israel Camerata Orchestra Jerusalem, in a recital and master-class tour in the USA, and with the Houston Symphony Orchestra for Carmina Burana.
Laura Claycomb has emerged as a concert repertoire powerhouse, having performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and Les Arts Florissants, among those already mentioned. She has tackled soloist roles in Orff’s Carmina burana (National Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra with the late Frühbeck de Burgos), Johannes Brahms’ Deutsches Requiem, G.F. Handel's Messiah, Gabriel Fauré's Requiem, L.v. Beethoven’s Missa solemnis and oratorio Christus am Ölberge, the latter with the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome. She is among today’s foremost Gustav Mahler sopranos, having sung solos in the composer’s Symphonies Nos. 2, 4, and 8 with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Maggio Musicale di Firenze, and Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela, with Michael Tilson-Thomas, Gergiev, Honeck, Inkinen, and Abbado/Mattheuz. She appeared to great acclaim in G. Mahler's Symphony No. 2 at Hall and on a European tour with Michael Tilson-Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. She has been featured on San Francisco Symphony Orchestra/Michael Tilson-Thomas albums of G. Mahler's Symphony Nos. 4 and 8, the latter of which was awarded three Grammy® awards in 2009. She also recorded G. Mahler's Symphony No. 4 with Valery Gergiev and the London Symphony Orchestra.
High-profile productions starring Laura Claycomb that led to live recordings include Katharina Thoma’s 2013 Glyndebourne production of Ariadne auf Naxos, Alan Platel and Fabrizio Cassol’s Pitié with Cypres Records, Berlioz’s Benvenuto Cellini with the London Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Sir Colin Davis as well as with Roger Norrington and the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra (SWR), and Robert LePage’s production of I. Stravinsky's The Rake’s Progress in Brussels.
Laura Claycomb's extensive recording catalog includes numerous albums of bel canto operas and chamber music with Britain’s Opera Rara label such as G.F. Handel's Arcadian Duets with Emmanuelle Haïm and Le Concert d'Astrée, Ligeti’s Le grand macabre with Esa-Pekka Salonen and the London Sinfonietta, Carmina burana with the London Symphony Orchestra and Richard Hickox (Chandos) as well as Gabriel Fauré's Requiem with the San Francisco Boys’ Choir and Ian Robertson.
Laura Claycomb has collaborated with renowned conductors Pierre Boulez, Patrick Summers, Richard Hickox, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Daniel Oren, Pinchas Steinberg, Paavo Järvi, and Sir Colin Davis and has originated many new productions with high-profile stage directors including Peter Sellars, Julie Taymor, Katharina Thoma, James Robinson, and David Alden.
Laura Claycomb has developed a strong interest in the training and nurturing of the next generation of operatic artists and currently serves as consultant for the Bolshoi Young Artist Program, giving master classes there and at the Centre for Operatic Studies in Sulmona, Italy. She currently resides with her husband and son in Turin, Italy. |
