Born in South Shields, Claire Rutter studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and at the National Opera Studio, sponsored by The Friends of English National Opera. She received outstanding reviews for her performance in English National Opera’s new production of Lucrezia Borgia, and for ENO she has also sung Donna Anna Don Giovanni, the title roles in Tosca and Aida, Amelia Un ballo in maschera, Elvira Ernani, Gilda Rigoletto and Violetta La traviata.
Most recently, she has received outstanding reviews for her performance in English National Opera’s new production of Lucrezia Borgia, and for ENO she has also sung Donna Anna Don Giovanni, the title roles in Tosca and Aida, Amelia Un ballo in maschera and Elvira Ernani.
For three years, she was a company principal with Scottish Opera, where her roles included Maddalena Andrea Chenier, Fiordiligi Cosi fan tutte, Elettra Idomeneo, Countess Almaviva Le nozze di Figaro, Rosalinde Die Fledermaus, Gilda Rigoletto and Violetta La traviata.
Elsewhere in the UK, she has sung Maddalena Andrea Chenier and the title role in Manon Lescaut for Chelsea Opera Group, the title roles in La Gioconda and Giovanna d’Arco and Abigaille Nabucco for Opera North and Gilda Rigoletto and Violetta La traviata for Welsh National Opera. She has also established a close relationship with Grange Park Opera, where she has sung the title roles in new productions of Norma and Tosca.
She made her US debut as Fiordiligi Cosi fan tutte for Dallas Opera, being nominated for the Maria Callas Award, and recently returned as Donna Anna Don Giovanni. Her international engagements have further included Donna Anna Don Giovanni for Opéra de Bordeaux, Opéras de Montpellier, Opéra national du Rhin, Strasbourg, and De Vlaamse Opera; Countess Almaviva Le nozze di Figaro and Tosca for Opéra de Bordeaux; Mimi La bohème at the Beijing International Festival; the title role in Aida for Opera Australia; Amelia Un ballo in maschera for Finnish National Opera and Florida Grand Opera; Alice Ford Falstaff for Santa Fe Opera; and Violetta La traviata for Den Norske Opera.
Concert engagements have included appearances at all of Britain’s major concert halls with conductors including Sir Richard Armstrong, Sir Colin Davis, Sir Mark Elder, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos and Edo de Waart. Orchestras with whom she has worked include the the BBC Concert Orchestra, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, the English Chamber Orchestra, the Hallé, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonia, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and the Ulster Orchestra. She also sang a wide-ranging programme of bel canto repertoire in the 2007 Prague International Music Festival.
For Chandos, she has recorded Lennox Berkeley’s A Dinner Engagement and Ruth with the City of London Sinfonia conducted by Sir Richard Hickox; for Hyperion Sullivan’s The Contrabandista with the New London Orchestra conducted by Ronald Corp; for Naxos, Holst’s The Mystic Trumpeter with the RSNO conducted by David Lloyd-Jones, Howells’ Hymnus Paradisi with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra conducted by David Hall and Carmina Burana (with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra conducted by Marin Alsop; and for the Hallé’s own label, she can be heard in The Kingdom conducted by Sir Mark Elder and Christmas Classics conducted by Carl Davis.
Current engagements include Elvira I Puritani, Cio-Cio-San Madama Butterfly and the title role in Tosca for Grange Park Opera, a return to English National Opera as Tosca, the title role in Aida for Raymond Gubbay at London’s Royal Albert Hall, the title role in Aida and further performances as Amelia Un ballo in maschera for the Finnish National Opera, Sieglinde Die Walküre at the Opéra de Rennes, Mahler Symphony No. 2 at the Winchester Festival, Mahler Symphony No. 8 with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Carmina Burana at the Royal Festival Hall and an Opera Gala at the Barbican Centre.
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