Lauren Fagan - The Beckwith Trust

“Fagan, one of today’s finest young sopranos, is exceptional throughout and a superb actor. Her tone blazes with existential defiance and desperation, and she possesses both the agility for act one – Sempre Libera is capped by a dazzling top E flat – and the dramatic weight for the closing scenes.” – The Guardian

Award winning soprano

Lauren Fagan has developed into one of today’s most accomplished young sopranos and had the honour of representing her native Australia in the 2019 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition. Recent role debuts as Alcina for the Internationale Händel-Festspiele Karlsruhe, Violetta in Rodula Gaitanou’s production of La Traviata for Opera Holland Park and Mimi in the classic Phyllida Lloyd production of La Bohème for Opera North were met with unanimous critical acclaim for her richness of tone, thrilling top notes and compelling stage presence.

Repertoir

Fagan’s 2022/23 season includes her Australian operatic debut as Violetta in La Traviata for State Opera South Australia, and continues with her role debut as Margarita Xirgu in Osvaldo Golijov’s Ainadamar for Scottish Opera, her return to Avis in The Wreckers, in concert with Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin led by Robin Ticciati, and Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream for the Glyndebourne Festival, conducted by Dalia Stasevska. Lauren also makes her Canadian debut beginning with The Messiah with Toronto Symphony under Gustavo Gimeno followed by Countess Almaviva at the Canadian Opera Company under Harry Bickett.

The 2021/22 season brought Fagan’s debut at Opéra de Paris in 7 Deaths of Maria Callas, her return to Opernhaus Zürich for the world premiere of Monteverdi, a ballet choreographed by Christian Spuck to the Madrigals of Monteverdi, conducted by Riccardo Minasi and Christoph Koncz, and her Glyndebourne Festival debut in Ethel Smyth’s The Wreckers, conducted by Robin Ticciati.

The 2020/21 season also included two major company debuts for Lauren Fagan: at Bayerische Staatsoper Munich as ‘Norma’ in Marina Abramovic’s special project 7 Deaths of Maria Callas, conducted by Yoel Gamzou, and at Opernhaus Zürich as Giulietta in Andreas Homoki’s new production of Les Contes d’Hoffmann, under Antonino Fogliani, and she made a spectacular return to Violetta in Rodula Gaitanou’s production of La traviata for London’s Opera Holland Park.

Earlier highlights include performances as Roxana in Szymanowski’s Krol Roger with Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia under Sir Antonio Pappano, Donna Elvira with NHK Symphony Orchestra under Paavo Järvi, alongside staged productions as Donna Anna (Don Giovanni) and Musetta (La bohème), marking company debuts with Opera Holland Park and Welsh National Opera.

On the concert stage, Lauren Fagan made a much-anticipated Australian debut in the 2020/21 season with Sydney Symphony Orchestra in Beethoven’s Ah! Perfido, conducted by Simone Young and with Adelaide Symphony Orchestra in Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 conducted by Dane Lam. Beethoven’s Symphony No.9 is a regular season’s feature, with most recent performances under Eivind Gullberg-Jensen with Hamburger Symphoniker and under Klaus Mäkelä with Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra. Other notable collaborations have included joining Sakari Oramo for Vaughan Williams’ Serenade to Music as part of the Last Night of the BBC Proms, Peer Gynt with Orchestre national de Lyon under Leonard Slatkin, Vier letzte lieder for Malmö Opera under Karen Kamensek, and Agnès in concert performances of George Benjamin’s Written on Skin with Melos Sinfonia at LSO St Luke’s, London and in St. Petersburg at the Mariinsky Theatre.

A graduate of Covent Garden’s prestigious Jette Parker Young Artist Programme, Lauren Fagan most recently returned to the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, as Woglinde in Keith Warner’s Ring Cycle under Sir Antonio Pappano. During her time as a member of the JPYAP she appeared on the main stage and at the Lindbury Theatre in an extensive repertoire including as Oscar (Un ballo in maschera), Suor Genovieffa (Suor Angelica), Giannetta (L’elisir d’amore), Lila (The Firework-Maker’s Daughter), Ines (Il trovatore), Sophie (Werther), Jemmy (Guillaume Tell), Lia (L’enfant prodigue), Blue Fairy (The Adventures of Pinocchio) and Giulia (La scala di seta).