Marta Fontanals-Simmons | Mezzo Soprano

ABOUT

Marta Fontanals-Simmons has emerged as a strong artistic personality and an unflinchingly direct communicator on the international stage. Engaging with fellow creatives, challenging audiences, programming responsibly and celebrating music by both the giants in the canon alongside lesser known and underrepresented composers are all at the heart of her performance ethos.

Praised as “exemplary” (The Guardian) and “velvet-voiced” (Daily Telegraph), Fontanals-Simmons recently made critically acclaimed house and role debuts at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden as Siébel in David McVicar's production of Faust, English National Opera as Eurydice Woman in Daniel Kramer’s iconic production of Harrison Birtwistle’s The Mask of Orpheus, Het Concertgebouw as Amando in Ligeti’s Le Grand Macabre with James Gaffigan and creating the title role in the world premiere of Gavin Higgins’ The Faerie Bride at the Aldeburgh Festival.

Looking forward to the 2023/24 season, Marta returns to the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden covering Storgè in their production of Handel’s Jephtha and to Teatro Real, Madrid as both Vlasta in Weinberg’s Die Passageirin and Kate Pinkerton Madama Butterfly, Barbican Hall, where she will perform St Cecilia Mass by Nuñes Garcia with BBCSO and Three Choirs Festival performing Stanford Stabat Mater with the Philharmonia Orchestra. Marta continues to work with conductors Jac van Steen, Martyn Brabbins, Brian Kay and Hilary Davan Wetton and will give recitals with her Erda Ensemble.

Recent operatic highlights include the world premiere of Anna by David Matthews at The Grange Festival, Matriosha in a new Calixto Bieito production of Prokofiev’s War and Peace and Erste Magd Elektra both while in the Ensemble at Grand Théâtre de Genève. For Glyndebourne Festival, Marta has performed Jacquet in Ethel Smyth’s The Wreckers, Zweite Dame Die Zauberflöte, Lapak The Cunning Little Vixen. For Garsington Opera, Marta has performed Zweite Dame Die Zauberflöte and Cherubino Le Nozze di Figaro also at Théâtre de Champs Elysees, Opera de Monte Carlo and Grange Park Opera.

A committed recitalist, Marta has performed with Graham Johnson at Wigmore Hall, Iain Burnside at the Bath International Music Festival, Wigmore Hall and Lammermuir Festival, Roger Vignoles at the Juan March Foundation, Madrid, Christopher Glynn at the Barber Institute Concert Series, Simon Lepper at Lille Opera and for BBCRadio3, Joanna McGregor and Lana Bode at the Aldeburgh Festival, Bengt Forsberg at Den Norske Opera, Sholto Kynoch at Oxford Lieder Festival, Blackheath Halls and the Zeist Lieder Festival.

Concert highlights include performing with BBCSO at Barbican Hall, BBCNOW at St David’s Hall, Philharmonia at Royal Festival Hall, RPO at the Royal Albert Hall and on tour, CBSO at Birmingham Symphony Hall, Radio Filharmonisch Orkest at Het Concertgebouw, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester at Hamburg Elbphilharmonie, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester at Berlin Philharmonie, Die Stuttgarter Philharmoniker at Stuttgart Liederhalle and at the BBC Proms.

Fontanals-Simmons is an associate member of the Quantum Ensemble at the Auditorio de Tenerife. She was awarded the Prix de Lied at Le Concours international de chant-piano Nadia et Lili Boulanger in Paris, was a finalist in the 2014 Kathleen Ferrier Award at Wigmore Hall, London and is a graduate of the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, where she was awarded the prestigious Gold Medal in 2016 and was a Jerwood Artist at Glyndebourne for the 2015/16 season. She has been a featured artist on 8 discs including her debut album with long-time collaborator Lana Bode ‘I and Silence; Women’s Voices in American Song’ which received 5 star reviews.

Fontanals-Simmons Biography 2023-24
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