Fleur Barron

Biography

Hailed as "a knockout performer" by The Times, Singaporean-British mezzo Fleur Barron is a passionate interpreter of opera, symphonic works and chamber music ranging from the baroque to the contemporary. She is currently Artistic Partner of the Orquesta Sinfonica del Principado de Asturias in Oviedo, for which she will curate/perform multiple projects across several seasons. Fleur is mentored by Barbara Hannigan.

The 24/25 season saw Fleur emerge as an exciting, leading voice in Mahlerian repertoire across a series of important symphonic debuts: Das Lied von der Erde with Daniel Harding and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra on tour across Germany, with Harding and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra in Stockholm and on tour to Spain, with Kent Nagano and the Hamburg Staatsorchester at the Elbphilharmonie, and at the Oregon Bach Festival; Mahler’s Des Knaben Wunderhorn with Nathalie Stutzmann and the Atlanta Symphony; Mahler Symphony No. 2 with the Orquesta de Valencia, the Rückert Lieder with Phil Zuid, and the Kindertotenlieder at Het Concertgebouw’s Mahler Festival with Julius Drake. Other orchestral engagements included Lieberson’s Neruda Songs with the Hawaii Symphony, Saariaho’s Adriana Songs with the Turku Philharmonic, and orchestrated Schubert songs with the Orquesta Sinfonica del Principado de Asturias. Fleur took on three new opera roles: Concepcion in Ravel’s L’Heure Espagnole with the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra under Ludovic Morlot, as well as a studio recording; Comrade Chin/Shu Fang in Huang Ruo’s M. Butterfly at the Barbican, directed by Jim Robinson, and Galatea in Handel’s Aci, Galatea e Polifemo with La Nuova Musica at Wigmore Hall. 24/25 saw the release of Fleur’s debut orchestral disc with the Barcelona Symphony and Ludvoic Morlot, featuring Ravel’s Schéhérazade and Trois Poèmes de Mallarmé. A celebrated recitalist, Fleur undertook a 6-city U.S. recital tour with pianist Kunal Lahiry, including her Carnegie Hall debut, as well as a U.S. recital tour with the Parker Quartet. She also joined regular collaborator Julius Drake for concerts at Wigmore Hall, Amsterdam, Stuttgart, Madrid, Manchester and Oviedo. Fleur also taught a series of masterclasses at institutions such as Harvard, Sibelius Academy Helsinki, Royal Northern College of Music, Boston University, Manhattan School of Music, among others.

Fleur began her 23/24 season with a return to the London Symphony Orchestra, where she received critical acclaim in their Season Opening Concerts at the Barbican in works by Vivier and Stravinsky under the baton of Barbara Hannigan. The autumn of 2023 saw the release on Pentatone Records of her performance in the title role in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas with La Nuova Musica, and she joined the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra and conductor Ludovic Morlot for performances of Shéhérazade and Montsalvatge's Cinco Canciones Negras at L'Auditori Barcelona and on tour to Hamburg and Stockholm. Further orchestral engagements included Mahler’s Symphony no.3 with the Czech Philharmonic and Semyon Bychkov, both Das Lied von der Erde and Mahler Symphony no.2 with Orquesta Sinfónica del Principado de Asturias, and Freya Waley-Cohen's Spell Book with the Manchester Collective at the Barbican. In 23/24 Fleur also debuted two opera roles: Penelope in Monteverdi's Il Ritorno d'Ulisse in Patria on tour with baroque ensemble I Gemelli; and multiple roles in George Benjamin's two-person opera Into the Little Hill with the Staatsoper Berlin at the Boulez Saal. On the recital platform, Fleur teamed up with regular partner Julius Drake for a series of concerts in the U.S. and Europe, returned to the 92 Street Y with Myra Huang, and made multiple appearances at Wigmore Hall with string ensembles O/Modernt and 12 Ensemble. Fleur was also the curator of OSPA's East-West Fest in April 2024, featuring symphonic programs, chamber music, late-night concerts and community engagement over two weekends in Oviedo and Gijon.

Highlights of recent seasons include the title role of Kaija Saariaho's opera Adriana Mater with the San Francisco Symphony, Ottavia in L'Incoronazione di Poppea at the Aix-en-Provence Festival, la Zelatrice in Suor Angelica with the Berlin Philharmonic under Kirill Petrenko, Tchaikovsky’s Olga and Paulina, at Garsington Opera and Opera de Toulon, and her debut in the title role of Carmen for Arizona Opera; concerts with the Munich Philharmonic under Barbara Hannigan, the BBCSO, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Malaysian Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris, the Göteborgs Symfoniker, the Junge Deutsche Philharmonic, the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, the Balthasar Neumann Ensemble, the Slovenian Philharmonic and the Orquesta Sinfonica del Principado de Asturias as well as opera roles with the Aix-en-Provence Festival, Opéra de Monte-Carlo, La Monnaie/de Munt, Garsington Opera, Opéra National de Montpellier, Opéra National du Rhin and Cape Town Opera.

Fleur is committed to the way music can facilitate cross-cultural dialogue and healing. She is passionate about curating inclusive chamber music programming that amplifies the voices of diverse communities. Born in Northern Ireland to a Singaporean mother and British father, Fleur grew up in Hong Kong and later New York. She holds degrees from Columbia University (B.A. Comparative Literature) and Manhattan School of Music (M.M. Vocal Performance).


Photo Credit: Victoria Cadisch