Claire Booth | Soprano

British soprano Claire Booth has been widely acclaimed for her “radiant, rapturous, wonderfully nuanced performances” and voice of “piercing purity [and] luscious richness” (The Scotsman). Renowned for her breadth of repertoire and fearless musicianship, she spans Monteverdi and Handel through to Berg, Britten, and the music of the present day.

Recent highlights include the premiere of Helen Grime’s Folk with BBC Scottish Symphony, Strauss’ Four Last Songs with Boston Philharmonic, and the creation of Maria Yudina in Cutler’s The Death of Stalin with BCMG. She has released two recordings marking Schoenberg’s 150th anniversary: Expressionist Music on Orchid Classics and Pierrot Portraits with Ensemble360 on Onyx Classics. Other notable recent work includes a jazz-influenced reworking of Schumann’s Frauenliebe und Leben, the world premiere of Emily Howard’s Elliptics with the BBC Philharmonic, and critically acclaimed performances of La Voix Humaine, which earned her Best Actress at the Welsh Theatre Awards.

Operatic roles have included Handel’s Berenice and Serse, Janáček’s Cunning Little Vixen for Garsington Opera, Anne Trulove in The Rake’s Progress with the CBSO, Miranda in The Tempest with the Royal Concertgebouw, and world premieres by Birtwistle and Jonathan Harvey while still a student at the Guildhall School.

Her concert career spans Berg, Strauss, Stravinsky, Tippett, Vivier and George Benjamin with orchestras including the BBC Symphony, London Sinfonietta, Hong Kong Philharmonic, and Boston Symphony. She gave over 70 world premieres, including works by Elliott Carter, Unsuk Chin, and two premieres with the late Oliver Knussen. Her discography covers Schoenberg, Mussorgsky, Grieg, Britten, and Durey, among others. She is also a regular presenter on BBC Radio 3 and course director for Britten Pears Arts’ Composition and Performance Residencies.