|
The American soprano, Claron McFadden, studied voice at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, graduating with Bachelor of Music degree with distinction in 1984. In the same year she moved to the Netherlands, and has proven herself to be one of the most versatile singers of her generation.
Claron McFadden made her opera debut in the Holland Festival’s 1985 production of Johann Adolf Hasse's L’Eroe Cinese, conducted by Ton Koopman and in the following year, made her debut with William Christie in Rameau’s Anacréon, with the Opéra Lyrique du Rhin. She was invited many times to work with William Christie, touring extensively in the USA, South America, and Europe, including the Soviet Union. She made her debut at the Festival D’Aix en Provence with William Christie in a controversial production of Rameau's Les Indes Galantes, returning the following year in a Pierluigi Pizzi production of Rameau’s Castor et Pollux. Her debut at Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, also under William Christie, was the Graham Vick production of Purcell’s King Arthur.
Claron McFadden won the 2nd prize for opera at the International Competition in S’Hertogenbosch, and shortly thereafter, was invited by the Netherlands Opera to she made her debut in 1989 in the role of Zerbinetta, in Graham Vick’s Ariadne auf Naxos. She has since been a regular guest there, most notably as Soeur Constance in Robert Carsen’s production of Francis Poulenc's Dialogue des Carmélites, conducted by Yves Abel, and in Michel van der Aa’s Afterlife. She was invited by Fabio Biondi to sing the title role in Cavalli’s La Didone at La Fenice in Venice, and was invited several times to sing at the Glyndebourne Festival, making her debut there in the title role of Alban Berg's Lulu, staged by Graham Vick and conducted by Sir Andrew Davis, and creating the role of the Controller in Jonathan Dove’s opera Flight, directed by Richard Jones. David McVickar has invited her on several occasions to take part in his productions, including W.A. Mozart's Don Giovanni and George Frideric Handel Semele, conducted by Marc Minkowski. She has also collaborated on several dance productions, most notably Alain Platel’s Vsprs. She is also a much-appreciated soloist at the prestigious Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Bayerische Staatsoper, and Opéra Comique. She has performed at various other festivals, including the Bregenz Festival.
In addition to her numerous opera roles, Claron McFadden has also made a name for herself on the concert stage, and has frequently sung at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. She is frequently asked to sing the soprano part in Orff’s Carmina Burana, (most notably with Neeme Järvi and Klaus Peter Flor), L’Enfant et les Sortilèges, W.A. Mozart's Der Schauspieldirektor (Salzburger Festspiele), Leonard Bernstein's Candide, and Heitor Villa-Lobos' Bachianas Brasilieras number 5. She peforms regularly with the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, Residentie Orkest Den Haag, as well as the MDR Sinfonieorchester Leipzig and SWR Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart. She has also worked with other big names such as Jörg Widmann.
Claron McFadden is also in demand for her interpretation of modern and contemporary music. She is closely associated with the music of Dirk Brossé and with Harrison Birtwistle's Paul Celan Songs, which she has performed several times in London with the Nash Ensemble. She is a regular guest at the BBC Proms, including opening the 1999 Proms in Tippett’s The Mask of Time, conducted by Sir Andrew Davis, and performing Arnold Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire with the Nash Ensemble. She performs regularly with the Ardittti Quartet, performing such pieces as Brian Ferneyhough’s Fouth String Quartet and the world premiere of Wolfgang Rihm’s Akt und Tag. Together with the Nash Ensemble and the Arditti Quartet she recorded Harrison Birtwistle’s Pulse Shadows, conducted by Reinbert de Leeuw, which won a Grammaphone Award, and, again with the Nash Ensemble, she recorded his “The Woman and the Hare”, which was nominated for a Grammy.
Claron McFadden is equally at home with Oratorio, working with such conductors as Jos van Immerseel (J.S. Bach's Johannes-Passion BWV 245, Dietrich Buxtehude's Cantatas), and Frans Brüggen (W.A. Mozart's c mol messe, Exsultate Jubilate), and John Eliot Gardiner (Bach Cantata Pilgrimage, 2000)
Because of her great versatility, Claron McFadden is regularly invited to perform with jazz musicians such as Eric Vloeimans, Henk Meutgeert, Michiel Borstlap Chris Hinze, Aka Moon, and the Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw. In 2006 she received the Amsterdam Prize for the Arts and in 2020 she was honoured as Knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau. November 2021, she performed at DNO in the role of Princess Vixen in How Anansi freed the Stories of the World. She currently lives in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
In addition to several live performances for radio and television, Claron McFadden has also made many CD's for major labels such as EMI..
Claron McFadden is also an acclaimed voice teacher. Among the singers who have studied with her and/or attended her master-classes: Ambrož Bajec-Lapajne (Tenor), Ingeborg Bröcheler (Contralto), Lucie Chartin (Soprano), Wessel van der Ham (Bass-Baritone), Elizabeth Kooy (Soprano), Sophia Patsi (Contralto), Chris Postuma (Tenor), Talitha van der Spek (Mezzo-soprano), Herlinde Van de Straete (Mezzo-soprano), Eske Tibben (Contralto/Mezzo-soprano), Eline Welle (Mezzo-soprano). |
