Singaporean-British mezzo Fleur Barron has been hailed as a “charismatic star” by the Boston Globe and a "knockout performer" by The Times. Fleur was awarded the 2022 Schubert Prize by the Schubertíada alongside Brigitte Fassbender, and has been chosen by Het Concertgebouw as a Rising Star and featured artist for the 22-23 season. Fleur has also been designated Artistic Partner of the Orquesta Sinfonica del Principado de Asturias in Oviedo for several seasons beginning in 22-23, for which she will curate/perform multiple projects 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.
In the 2022-2023 season, Fleur has a string of exciting orchestral debuts: Debussy’s La Damoiselle Elue with Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Orchestre de Paris, Berio’s Folksongs with Sir Mark Elder on tour with the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie, Brucker’s Te Deum with Vasily Petrenko and the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Stravinsky's Pulcinella with Barbara Hannigan and the Göteborgs Symfoniker on tour in Sweden and to Hamburg's Elbphilharmonie, Beethoven's Missa Solemnis with Thomas Hengelbrock at the Aix-en-Provence Festival, Berlioz Les Nuits d’Eté and arias from Carmen with the Slovenian Philharmonic, and Mahler's Rückert Lieder with the Orquesta Sinfonica del Principado de Asturias. On the operatic stage, Fleur sings the title role in Kaija Saariaho's Adriana Mater with the San Francisco Symphony under Esa-Pekka Salonen, directed by Peter Sellars; the title role in Hasse’s Marc Antonio e Cleopatra with the NDR Radiophilharmonie in Hannover, the title role in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas with La Nuova Musica for a recording on the PENTATONE label, Alto soloist in a staged production of Mozart’s Requiem at the Opéra National de Bordeaux, Bersi in Andrea Chénier and Mallika in Lakme for Opéra de Monte-Carlo, and Mallika at the Théâtre de Champs-Elysées. On the recital platform, Fleur joins her regular collaborator Julius Drake for concerts at Het Concertgebouw, MiTO Festival in Milan and Turin, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Spivey Hall in Atlanta, Winterreise at the Théâtre de l’Athénée in Paris, and for the season opening concert at the LIFE Victoria Festival in Barcelona. She also joins duo partner Kunal Lahiry for recitals at Wigmore Hall and Oxford Lieder Festival, Malcolm Martineau at Snape Maltings, and Imogen Cooper at La Jolla Music Society, San Diego.
In the 2021-2022 season, Fleur returned to the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence as Ottavia in L’Incoronazione di Poppea under the baton of Leonardo Garcia Alarcon and to Opéra de Toulon for Polina in Tchaikovsky's Pique Dame. She also sang the title role in Carmen with Arizona Opera, Schwertleite in Die Walküre at English National Opera, and the title role in Hänsel und Gretel in Oviedo. On the concert platform, joined Barbara Hannigan and the London Symphony Orchestra for Offenbach at the Barbican, appeared twice at Wigmore Hall -- in an all-Mahler program with Graham Johnson and Alice Coote, and in a program for voice, piano and string quartet with the Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective. Fleur reunited with regular collaborator Julius Drake Schubert's Winterreise in Barcelona, Las Palmas and Ireland, and for concerts in the U.S.; she was an artist-in-residence at Denmark's Oremansgaard Festival with acclaimed cellist Natalie Clein and joined duo partner Kunal Lahiry for their Empire/Identity recital in Berlin and Stuttgart. Last season also saw the release of CDs of Brahms and Samuel Barber songs, and also a World Premiere recording of the Handel/Hasse opera "Caio Fabbricio HWV A9" with London Early Opera for Signum Records, in which she sang the lead role of Pirro.
Other recent concert engagements include debuts with the Berlin Philharmonic under Kirill Petrenko, the Munich Philharmonic under Barbara Hannigan, the Malaysian Philharmonic, The BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, artistic residencies with the Ojai Festival, Aldeburgh Festival and Denmark's Oremansgaard Festival, recitals in Europe and the U.S. with regular collaborators Julius Drake, Roger Vignoles, Joseph Middleton, Kunal Lahiry and Myra Huang. Recent opera engagements include leading roles with La Monnaie/de Munt, Tanglewood Music Festival, Opéra National du Rhin, Garsington Opera, Opéra National de Montpellier, Monte-Carlo Opera and Cape Town Opera.
Fleur is committed to exploring the many ways 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 and educator, Fleur has led vocal masterclasses and seminars at Manhattan School of Music, Royal Academy of Music, the Malaysian Philharmonic, Temple University, and King's College London, and has also mentored young musicians privately. Born to a British father and Singaporean mother in Northern Ireland, Fleur grew up in the Far East and has also spent considerable time in New York and the U.K. She is currently based in London.
Fleur holds a B.A. in Comparative Literature with highest honours from Columbia University and a Masters in Vocal Performance from Manhattan School of Music.