valdine anderson, soprano
“For lovers of contemporary music, Santa Cruz, California is the place to be during the first two weeks of August.”
--BBC Music Magazine
Canadian soprano Valdine Anderson is renowned throughout the world for her acclaimed performances in operatic and concert repertoire ranging from the baroque to the contemporary.
In 1995 Valdine Anderson made her European operatic debut in the role of the Maid in the extremely successful world première of Almeida Opera's production of Thomas Adès' opera Powder Her Face at the Cheltenham Festival, with subsequent performances at the Almeida Theatre. She has just recreated this role with great success for Opera de Nantes in their 2001/2 season. In 1998 Miss Anderson made her English National Opera debut in Gavin Bryar's Dr Ox's Experiment and in 2000 she appeared in a concert performance of Elliott Carter’s opera What Next? at the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam and Queen Elizabeth Hall, London. She will also perform the rôle in Belgium in 2002.
Her regular concert appearances in the UK have included a performance of Boulez Pli selon pli with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra at the Edinburgh Festival in 1999 and Mahler Symphony No 4 with the same orchestra which has now been released on CD by BBC Worldwide. She also performs regularly with the London Sinfonietta, the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the Nash Ensemble. She made her BBC Proms début with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Mark Elder in 1998 and returned in 1999 for a performance of Nielsen Symphony No 3, again with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Jukka-Pekka Saraste. She will appear at the BBC Proms again in 2002 for a performance of Knussen Higglety Pigglety Pop! with the London Sinfonietta.
Elsewhere Valdine Anderson has appeared with orchestras including L'Orchestre National de France, L’Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, the Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra and Chicago Symphony Orchestra. She has also appeared with the Gavin Bryar's Ensemble, the Hilliard Ensemble, Asko Ensemble, Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, Ensemble Modern and the Ensemble Intercontemporain. She has collaborated with many composers including George Benjamin, Sir Harrison Birtwistle, Pierre Boulez, Gavin Bryars, Gérard Grisey and has worked with conductors including Daniel Barenboim, Pierre Boulez, Philippe Herreweghe, Edo de Waart and David Zinman. In addition, Miss Anderson has toured Europe with the Gavin Bryars Ensemble, L’Orchestre des Champs Elysées and, in celebration of Pierre Boulez’s 75th birthday, with the Ensemble Intercontemporain. She has appeared at many international festivals including Aspen, Holland and Edinburgh.
Recent engagements have included a concert in the Concertgebouw Amsterdam with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, a tour with the Nash Ensemble and her debut with the BBC Symphony Orchestra.
Future engagements include a tour with the Deutsche Kammer philharmonie, concerts with the Vancouver Symphony, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Ensemble Oriol Berlin, the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group conducted by Sir Simon Rattle, the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood and débuts with the New York Philharmonic and London Symphony Orchestras. She will also give her Queen Elizabeth Hall debut recital and return to the BBC Proms with the London Sinfonietta.
In Canada she has appeared with Edmonton Opera, Manitoba Opera and Vancouver Opera where roles have included Blonde (Die Entführung aus dem Serail), Micaela (Carmen) and Papagena (The Magic Flute). The 2000/1 season included Gretel (Hansel and Gretel) for Edmonton Opera, and the title role in a new production of Floyd Susannah for Calgary Opera. Future engagements include a concert performance of "The Scarlet Princess" for the Canadian Opera Company.
Valdine Anderson’s many recordings include Maxwell-Davies' Job (Collins), Freedman's Spirit Song, Adès' Five Eliot Landscapes (EMI), Lutoslawski's Chantefleurs et Chantefables (BIS), Bryars' Adnan’s Songbook, Torke Book of Proverbs (Decca) and a CD of the BBC Proms performance of Szymanowski Songs of a Fairy Princess (BBC Music). Adès' Powder Her Face (EMI) which was nominated for Grammy Award and future releases include a CD of Webern Songs with the Nieuw Ensemble.
