Arizona Opera Cast Members & Creatives

Hailed as a “charismatic star” by the Boston Globe and as “a knockout performer” by The Times, Singaporean-British mezzo Fleur Barron is a 2018 HSBC Laureate of the Aix-en-Provence Festival and the recipient of the 2016 Grace B. Jackson Prize from the Tanglewood Music Festival, awarded to one outstanding young singer each year. A passionate interpreter of chamber music, concert works and opera ranging from the baroque to the contemporary, Fleur is mentored by Barbara Hannigan.

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. An active mentor, Fleur is a member of the Hope Collective, an artist-in-residence at Manhattan School of Music, and is currently mentoring young singers in partnership with Cape Town Opera, the Malaysian Philharmonic and Manhattan School of Music. Born in Northern Ireland to a Singaporean mother and British father, Fleur grew up in the Far East and later completed studies in New York and London.

In the 2020/21 Season, impacted by COVID, Fleur sings Ottavia in Monteverdi’s L’Incoronazione di Poppea at Opéra Royal de Versailles; Sasha Garner in the world Premiere of Jennifer Higdon’s Woman with Eyes Closed at Opera Philadelphia; Olga in Eugene Onegin for Garsington Opera, and Mercedes in Carmen at Monte-Carlo Opera. Orchestral engagements include Chausson’s Poème de l’Amour et de la Mer with Orchestre Symphonique de Toulon and Mahler’s Kindertotenlieder with Geneva’s Léman Lyriques Festival. On the recital platform, Fleur joins regular collaborator Julius Drake for recitals at Het Concertgebouw, Chamber Music Northwest, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society in a duo recital with Eric Owens, and Oxford Lieder Festival in a duo recital with Ian Bostridge. She curates and performs a series of recitals at the Aix-en-Provence Festival on the theme of Empire/colonialism, curates a recital with pianist Myra Huang around Asian creators for Aural Compass Projects and Cincinnati Song Initiative, and performs a recital featuring Asian composers on the theme of “Homeland, Childhood and Belonging” at the Leeds Lieder Festival. Fleur has further recitals in France at Cannes Music Festival, and in the U.K. at Aldeburgh Festival and Blackheath Halls.

In the 2019/20 Season, also impacted by COVID, Fleur debuted with the Berlin Philharmoniker under Kirill Petrenko as La Zelatrice in a staged production of Suor Angelica, sang the title role in Gluck’s Orphée et Eurydice with Cape Town Opera, and Suzuki with both the Hallé Orchestra under Sir Mark Elder and at Opéra National de Montpellier. She was also scheduled to sing the title role in Handel’s Giulio Cesare with the NDR Radiophilharmonie in Hannover. In concert, Fleur debuted with the Munich Philharmonic in Stravinsky’s Pulcinella under Barbara Hannigan and sang Berlioz arias with the Malaysian Philharmonic. She continued her partnership with Julius Drake in multiple recitals at Het Concertgebouw and in the U.K., joined regular collaborator Roger Vignoles in recital at Aldeburgh Festival, and performed one of the first livestreamed concerts in lockdown with pianist Myra Huang at the 92 Street Y, which was viewed by over 79,000 people.

In recent seasons, Fleur performed Baba the Turk in The Rake’s Progress to critical acclaim at both La Monnaie and Aldeburgh Festival with Barbara Hannigan; she also received plaudits for her portrayal of Anna I and Anna II in Kurt Weill’s die Siebentodsünden at the Tanglewood Music Festival. Further roles have included Fenena in Nabucco with Opéra National de Montpellier; Olga in Eugene Onegin with Opéra de Toulon; 1st Witch in Dido and Aeneas with Festival d’Aix-en-Provence; and Balkis in Offenbach’s Barkouf with Opéra National du Rhin. Recent concert performances include an artistic residency at the Ojai Festival under the helm of Barbara Hannigan; alto soloist in Bernstein’s Songfest with the BBC Symphony Orchestra at Barbican Hall; Vaughn William’s Serenade to Music with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater with Orchestre Régional de Normandie.