Susan Gritton

Susan Gritton (born 31 August 1965) is an English operatic soprano. She was the 1994 winner of the Kathleen Ferrier Award and has sung leading roles in a wide-ranging repertoire from Handel and Mozart to Britten, Janáček and Strauss.

Life and career

Gritton was born in Reigate, Surrey. She was educated at the University of Oxford and the University of London, where she studied Botany. She sang with the Clerkes of Oxenford, Monteverdi Choir and Hanover Band Chorus. Early on, she was inspired by the singing of Lucia Popp on The Cunning Little Vixen recording conducted by Charles Mackerras.

On the operatic stage, her roles include Ellen Orford in Peter Grimes (La Scala, Sydney and Tokyo); Blanche in Dialogues des Carmélites (Bayerische Staatsoper); Countess Madeleine in Capriccio and Tatyana in Eugene Onegin (Grange Park); Micaela in Carmen and Liù in Turandot (Covent Garden); Donna Anna in Don Giovanni (Bolshoi, Opéra de Montreal and Scottish Opera); Elettra in Idomeneo (Netherlands Opera) and Konstanze in Die Entführung aus dem Serail (Deutsche Staatsoper and Bayerische Staatsoper). Title roles include Theodora (Glyndebourne), Rodelinda (Bayerische Staatsoper), The Bartered Bride (Covent Garden), and The Cunning Little Vixen (ENO).

On the concert platform her work spans many periods and styles and includes Ravel's Shéhérazade (RLPO/Mackerras); Brahms' Ein Deutsches Requiem (Berlin Philharmonic/Rattle & Philharmonia/von Dohnànyi); Berg's Bruchstücke aus Wozzeck (Swedish Radio Orchestra/Harding) and Honegger's Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher (Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia/Pappano). Other highlights include Handel's Messiah (ROH Orchestra/Pappano); Elgar's The Kingdom (LSO/Elder); Shostakovich's Blok Romances (Nash Ensemble); Schumann's Das Paradies und die Peri at the Edinburgh Festival (SCO/Norrington) and in Vienna (Vienna Philharmonic/Rattle) and Britten's Les Illuminations – including the world premiere of Britten's three additional Rimbaud settings (BBCSSO/Brabbins). A Grammy-nominated artist, she has recorded prolifically for Chandos, Hyperion, Deutsche Grammophon, EMI, Decca, Philips and Collins Classics among others.

Gritton had no formal "British college or conservatoire training". She is married to the opera director Stephen Medcalf.

Roles

Discography

Prizes and awards

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Glyndebourne Archive - Susan Gritton, accessed 16 December 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 The battle of the senses: Susan Gritton branches out with Britten and Fanny Mendelssohn (Interview with Roger Nichols). Gramophone, February 2000, p. 17.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Search for Susan Gritton in the Royal Opera House database accessed 16 December 2024.
  4. ↑ Allison, John (June 2013), "Stephen Medcalf". Opera, Vol. 64, No. 6, pp. 696–702.