Hailed as “a knockout performer” by The Times, GRAMMY Award-winning mezzo Fleur Barron is an artist of striking versatility, celebrated for her vivid interpretations of repertoire spanning baroque, Weill, contemporary, and 19th century French music. Recognized as a leading Mahler interpreter of the new generation, she is equally known for her collaborations with living composers and curating multidisciplinary projects that explore connections across cultures and musical styles.
In the 26/27 season Fleur appears as the soloist for the Nobel Prize Concert with Sir Antonio Pappano and the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic in a new work by Hannah Kendall – a piece they also perform with the London Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican. Closely identified with the music of Mahler, Fleur performs her signature piece, Das Lied von der Erde, in concert, staged and choreographed versions: with the L.A. Philharmonic in a staged version with regular collaborators Esa-Pekka Salonen and Peter Sellars; the Czech Philharmonic and Daniel Harding; the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Jaime Martin; the Spanish National Orchestra and Josep Pons; and the Royal Ballet Covent Garden. Fleur also tours Mahler’s Kindertotenlieder to Vienna, Amsterdam and Linz with the Mahler Academy Orchestra.
Further symphonic engagements in 26/27 include Berio’s Folksongs on tour with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, as well as with the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano. Fleur returns to favourite French repertoire with Ravel’s Schéhérazade for her debut with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra under Jonathon Heyward, and with Lili Boulanger’s Faust et Hélène for her debut with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande under Daniel Harding. Additional orchestral collaborations include a tour with the Hong Kong Philharmonic of Falla’s Siete Canciones Populares and arias from Carmen, and orchestrated Schubert Lieder with the Hawaii Symphony.
Fleur’s 26/27 operatic engagements include a return to Opéra de Bordeaux for a staged production of Mozart’s Requiem, and leading roles in two world premieres by regular collaborator Bryce Dessner: Herakles Mad at Theater Basel, and Night Sky with Exit Wounds -- a staged monodrama for mezzo and ensemble, with poetry by Ocean Vuong -- at various European festivals.
On the recital platform, Fleur’s 26/27 diary features a 6-city U.S. tour with Trio Afiori, a voice-clarinet-piano trio she created with Anthony McGill and Gloria Chien; her Kabuki Winterreise project at Wigmore Hall and Schloss Elmau; recitals with Joseph Middleton at Wigmore Hall and Garsington Opera; and a recital of Mahler and Alex Ho at Wigmore Hall.
Highlights of last season included debuts with the Berlin Philharmonic and Kirill Petrenko in Mahler Symphony no.8, with the New York Philharmonic under Gustavo Dudamel in the world premiere of David Lang’s The Wealth of Nations, and with the Salzburg Festival, where she reunited with Esa-Pekka Salonen and Peter Sellars for a staged creation featuring Mahler’s “Abschied” from Das Lied von der Erde. With Salonen and Sellars, Fleur also starred as the title role in Kaija Saariaho’s Adriana Mater with the San Francisco Symphony, and later at the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma.
Recent baroque roles include Cornelia in Handel’s Giulio Cesare at Maggio Musicale Fiorentino under Gianluca Capuano, Purcell’s Dido with La Nuova Musica under David Bates, and in a recording for Pentatone; Ottavia in Monteverdi’s L’Incoronazione di Poppea at the Aix-en-Provence Festival, and Penelope in Monteverdi’s Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in Patria with ensemble I Gemelli.
Highlights of recent seasons include tours of Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde with both the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra under Daniel Harding; Schönberg’s Four Songs, op.22 with Vladimir Jurowski and the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin; Mahler’s Kindertotenlieder and Symphony no. 3 with the Czech Philharmonic under Semyon Bychkov; Mahler’s Des Knaben Wunderhorn and Mozart’s Requiem with Nathalie Stutzmann; Claude Vivier’s Wo bist du Licht and Stravinsky’s Pulcinella with Barbara Hannigan and the London Symphony Orchestra; a tour and recording of Ravel’s Schéhérazade and Trois Poèmes de Mallarmé with the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra and Ludovic Morlot.
Fleur’s discography extends from Hasse and Purcell to Brahms, Barber, Ravel and Saariaho with labels such as Deutsche Grammophon and Pentatone.
Born in Northern Ireland to a Singaporean mother and British father, Fleur grew up in Hong Kong and later New York. She holds degrees from Columbia University (B.A. Comparative Literature) and Manhattan School of Music (M.M. Vocal Performance).