Claron McFadden, soprano (New York, NY) studied voice at the Eastman school of music and received her bachelor’s degree with distinction in 1984. In the same year she moved to the Netherlands, where she currently resides. McFadden made her opera debut in the Holland Festival’s 1985 production of Hasse’s “L’Eroe Cinese” conducted by Ton Koopman, and in the following year made her debut with William Christie in Rameau’s “Anacréon” with the Opéra Lyrique du Rhin. She was invited many times to work with Christie, touring extensively in the US, South America, and Europe, including the Soviet Union. She made her debut at the Festival D’Aix en Provence with Christie in a controversial production of Rameau’s “Les Indes Galantes,” returning the following year in a Pierluigi Pizzi production of Rameau’s “Castor et Pollux.” Her Covent Garden debut was the Graham Vick production of Purcell’s “King Arthur.” McFadden won the second prize for opera at the International Competition in S’Hertogenbosch, and shortly thereafter was invited by the Netherlands Opera to sing Zerbinetta in Graham Vick’s “Ariadne auf Naxos.” She has since been a regular guest there, most notably as Soeur Constance in Robert Carsen’s production of Poulenc’s “Dialogue des Carmélites,” and in Michel van der Aa’s “Afterlife.” She was invited by Fabio Biondi to sing the title role in Cavalli’s “La Didone” at La Fenice in Venice, and was invited several times to sing at the Glyndebourne Festival. She has also collaborated on several dance productions, most notably Alain Platel’s “Vsprs.” In addition to her numerous opera roles, Claron McFadden has also made a name for herself on the concert stage, and has frequently sung at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. She is frequently asked to sing the soprano part in Orff’s “Carmina Burana,” “L’Enfant et les Sortilèges,” “Der Schauspieldirektor (Salzburger Festspiele), Bernstein’s “Candide,” and the “Bachianas Brasilieras number 5.” She performs regularly with the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, the Residentie Orchestra, and the MDR and SWR orchestras. McFadden is a regular guest at the BBC Proms; she opened the 1999 Proms in Tippett’s “The Mask of Time,” and performed Schönberg’s “Pierrot Lunaire” with the Nash Ensemble. Together with the Nash Ensemble, the Arditti Quartet, and conductor Reinbert de Leeuw, she recorded Harrison Birtwistle’s “Pulse Shadows,” which won a Gramophone Award. Also with the Nash Ensemble she recorded Birtwistle’s “The Woman and the Hare,” which was nominated for a Grammy. Claron McFadden is equally at home with Oratorio, working with such conductors as Jos van Immerseel and Frans Brüggen. She has often been asked to perform with jazz groups and musicians, including the Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw, Michiel Borstlap, Chris Hinze, and Aka Moon.