Samantha Crawford
Biografie
Die britisch-australische Sopranistin Samantha Crawford absolvierte ihr Gesangsstudium als Stipendiatin an der Guildhall School of Music and Drama mit Auszeichnung. 2017 gewann sie beim allerersten‚ Berliner Internationalen Musikwett-bewerb‘ die Goldmedaille mit Auszeichnung und zudem den ‚The Australian NSW Wagner Gesellschaft Präsidenten-Preis‘. 2016 erhielt sie sowohl den ersten Preis als auch den Präsidenten-Preis des ‘Gesangswettbewerbs der Londoner Wagner Gesellschaft‘ und war Finalistin beim‚ Royal Philharmonic Society Chilcott Award‘. Sie ist Empfängerin zahlreicher weiterer Preise und Stipendien. Samantha Crawford war u.a. Teilnehmerin des Aldeburgh Britten-Pears sowie des Garsington Alvarez Young Artist Programms.
Nach ihrem professionellen Operndebüt im Rahmen des Aldeburgh Festivals und des Edinburgh Festivals als Mrs. Coyle in Owen Wingrave, konnte sie sich ein umfangreiches Repertoire erarbeiten: Sieglinde und Ortlinde in Die Walküre, Elisabeth in Tannhäuser, Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana, Suor Angelica, Agathe in Der Freischütz, Miss Jessel in The Turn of the Screw, Regan in Tippett’s New Year unter der Regie von Keith Warner, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte, Contessa Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro, Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus und Ofglen in Ruders The Handmaid’s Tale. Sie gastierte an Häusern wie das Teatro Real Madrid, ENO, Glyndebourne, Scottish Opera, Garsington Opera und am Théâtre municipal de Fontainebleau. Samantha Crawford arbeitete mit Dirigenten wie Semyon Bychkov, Pablo Heras-Casado, Mark Wigglesworth, Vasily Petrenko, Thierry Fischer, Martyn Brabbins und Sir Colin Davis.
Ihr 2023, in Zusammenarbeit mit Lana Bode, veröffentlichtes Debütalbum “dream.risk.sing: elevating women’s voices” bei Delphian Records wurde von der Press sehr positiv rezensiert. 2024 ist das zweite Album,“Freedom Cries Out“, mit dem Pianisten Gavin Roberts geplant.
Auftritte als Konzertsängerin beispielsweise in der Wigmore Hall, Royal Albert Hall, Barbican, Hong Kong City Hall und im Schlosstheater Schönbrunn ergänzen ihr künstlerisches Profil. Hier war sie u.a. als Sopranistin in Verdis Requiem, Mendelssohns Elijah, Strauss Vier letzte Lieder, Wagners Wesendonck Lieder, Dvořáks Stabat Mater und Vaughan Williams’ Sea Symphony zu erleben
ENGLISH VERSION
A versatile artist, Samantha’s opera roles include Sieglinde and Ortlinde in Die Walküre, Elisabeth in Tannhäuser, Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana, the title role in Suor Angelica, Agathe in Der Freischütz, Miss Jessel in The Turn of the Screw, Mrs. Coyle in Owen Wingrave, Regan in Keith Warner’s production of Tippett’s New Year, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte, Contessa Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro, Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus and Ofglen in Ruders’ The Handmaid’s Tale for opera houses including Teatro Real Madrid, ENO, Glyndebourne, Scottish Opera, the Aldeburgh and Edinburgh Festivals, Garsington Opera and Théâtre municipal de Fontainebleau. Her performances at Teatro Real, both in Robert Carsen’s production of Die Walküre and Claus Guth’s production of Parsifal, were filmed for television and broadcast to cinemas across Spain. She has worked with conductors such as Semyon Bychkov, Pablo Heras-Casado, Mark Wigglesworth, Vasily Petrenko, Thierry Fischer, Martyn Brabbins and Sir Colin Davis.
In 2023, Samantha released her debut album, dream.risk.sing: elevating women’s voices, to critical acclaim with pianist Lana Bode on Delphian Records. Praised as ‘one of the most arresting recording-debuts I’ve heard all year’ (Presto Music), dream.risk.sing includes Charlotte Bray’s Crossing Faultlines, a song cycle exploring women’s experiences in the workplace which was commissioned especially for the project, and received its world première at Oxford International Song Festival. The album also features the first ever recordings of Crossing Faultlines, Libby Larsen’s songs from her The Birth Project and songs from Judith Weir’s woman.life.song. It is supported by Arts Council England and the RVW Trust.
In 2024, Samantha began working with pianist Gavin Roberts on producing a new programme and album, Freedom Cries Out, telling stories of displaced people and refugees. The programme features the world premiere of a song cycle by Raymond Yiu especially commissioned for the project and the UK premiere of Shawn Okpebholo’s song cycle, Words Like Freedom. The programme will premiere in November at The St. Marylebone Festival, London.
Equally at home in concert, she has performed across the UK, Europe and Asia. Recent engagements include performances at the Wigmore Hall, Royal Albert Hall, the Barbican, Hong Kong City Hall and Schlosstheater Schönbrunn. With notable repertoire including Verdi’s Requiem, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Strauss’s Vier letzte Lieder, Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder, Dvořák’s Stabat Mater and Vaughan Williams’ Sea Symphony.
Samantha studied with Yvonne Kenny AM as a Baroness de Turckheim Scholar at the Guildhall School of Music gaining both Bachelor and Master of Music degrees and graduated from the Opera Course with Distinction. She was awarded the Golden Medal with Honours at the 2017 Berliner International Music Competition; the 2017/18 NSW Wagner Society Award for Emerging Wagner Singers; and, in 2016, won First Prize and the President’s Prize at the Wagner Society Singing Competition in London.
From 2016-2020 Samantha was the Co-Founder and Director of the Creative Professionals Network Australia, hosting networking events at Australia House with the High Commission of Australia in the UK. CPN charity events supported the work of Home For Good and International Justice Mission. Committed to the development of young artists, Samantha joined the Board of Trustees at The Australian Music Foundation in 2024.