Hailed as “a knockout performer” by The Times, Singaporean-British mezzo Fleur Barron recently triumphed at the San Francisco Symphony in the title role of Kaija Saariaho's opera Adriana Mater in a production helmed by Peter Sellars and Esa-Pekka Salonen, and at the Aix-en-Provence Festival as Ottavia in Monterverdi’s L’Incoronazione di Poppea. She is a current Rising Star of Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw and an Artistic Partner of the Orquesta Sinfonica del Principado de Asturias in Oviedo, for which she will curate/perform multiple projects across several seasons. A passionate interpreter of opera, chamber music, and concert works ranging from the baroque to the contemporary, Fleur is mentored by Barbara Hannigan.
Fleur launches the 2023-24 season with a return to the London Symphony Orchestra, where she is the soloist in their Season Opening Concert at the Barbican, performing Claude Vivier's Wo bist du Licht, and in performances of Stravinsky's Pulcinella the following week, both under the baton of Barbara Hannigan. The autumn of 2023 sees the release on Pentatone Records of her performance in the title role in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas with La Nuova Musica, and she also begins a multi-season partnership with the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra and conductor Ludovic Morlot, joining them to record Ravel's Shéhérazade and Trois Poèmes de Mallarmé, and for performances of Shéhérazade and Montsalvatge's Cinco Canciones Negras at L'Auditori Barcelona and on tour to Hamburg and Stockholm. Further orchestral engagements include Mahler’s Symphony no.3 with the Czech Philharmonic and Semyon Bychkov at the Baden Baden Festival, both Das Lied von der Erde and Mahler Symphony no.2 with Orquesta Sinfónica del Principado de Asturias under Nuno Coehlo, and Freya Waley-Cohen's Spell Book with the Manchester Collective at the Barbican.
In 2023-24 Fleur debuts three opera roles: Penelope in Monteverdi's Il Ritorno d'Ulisse in Patria with baroque ensemble I Gemelli, which tours to major venues including Teatro Real Madrid, Opéra de Bordeaux and Théâtre du Capitole Toulouse; multiple roles in George Benjamin's two-person opera Into the Little Hill with the Staatskapelle Berlin under Finnegan Downie Dear; and the title role of John the Baptist in the modern premiere of Maria Margherita Grimani's La Decollazione di San Giovanni Battista with Haymarket Opera in Chicago. On the recital platform, Fleur joins regular collaborator Julius Drake for concerts in London, Copenhagen, Santa Fe, Padua, Ireland and Oviedo. She debuts at the Wiener Konzerthaus in multiple chamber music concerts for their Gemischter Satz Festival, returns to the 92 Street Y in New York with Myra Huang, and joins Swedish ensemble O/Modernt at Wigmore Hall and Queen Silvia Concert Hall, Stockholm. Fleur is 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.
In the 2022-2023 season, Fleur had critical success in the title role of Kaija Saariaho's opera Adriana Mater in a new production by Peter Sellars with the San Francisco Symphony under Esa-Pekka Salonen, and made a string of exciting orchestral debuts: Debussy La Damoiselle Élue with Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Orchestre de Paris, Stravinsky Pulcinella with the Göteborgs Symfoniker and Barbara Hannigan, Berio Folksongs with Sir Mark Elder on tour with the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie, Bruckner Te Deum with Vasily Petrenko and the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Beethoven Missa Solemnis with Thomas Hengelbrock and the Balthasar Neumann Ensemble, Berlioz Les Nuits d’Été with the Slovenian Philharmonic, and Mahler’s Rückert Lieder with the Orquesta Sinfonica del Principado de Asturias. She also sang the title role in Hasse’s Marc Antonio e Cleopatra with the NDR Radiophilharmonie in Hannover, alto soloist in a new, staged production of Mozart’s Requiem at the Opéra National de Bordeaux, Bersi in Andrea Chénier and Mallika in Lakmé for Opéra de Monte-Carlo and the Théâtre de Champs-Elysées. On the recital platform, Fleur joined Julius Drake for concerts at Het Concertgebouw, MiTO Festival in Milan and Turin, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Spivey Hall, and at the Théâtre de l’Athénée in Paris. She teamed up with duo partner Kunal Lahiry for recitals at Wigmore Hall and Oxford Lieder Festival, with Malcolm Martineau at Snape Maltings and with Joseph Middleton at Buxton Festival.
Highlights of recent seasons include 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, and 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 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, Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia, 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.