| Sarah Fryer |
Introduction “The high point is the Pie Jesu with its radiant mezzo-soprano solo, which Sarah Fryer flooded with passionate, beautiful tone. It was subtle and fervent and touched people.” Vancouver Sun, Lloyd Dykk BiographyBritish-Canadian mezzo-soprano Sarah Fryer has sung extensively in Europe and in North America. Praised for her versatility and fine musicianship, Ms. Fryer has been a guest of many festivals including Aldeburgh (Nancy in ALBERT HERRING, Laura in IOLANTA, Steuart Bedford, conductor; BACH CANTATAS, George Malcolm, conductor), Dartington (Berlioz’ L’ENFANCE DU CHRIST, John Alldis, conductor), Taormina Arte, (Edelknabe, LOHENGRIN, Giuseppe Sinopoli, conductor), Murcia (WEIHNACHTSORATORIUM) and the Three Choirs Festival (UK). She has appeared with many notable orchestras and choirs including the Hallé Orchestra, (Bruckner’s TE DEUM, Stanislav Skrowaczewski, conductor), The Bach Choir, London (Sir David Willcocks, David Hill), Orquesta Sinfonica del Estado de Mexico (Beethoven/Mozart, Enrique Batiz, conductor), Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (Beethoven’s MISSA SOLEMNIS), The Hanover Band, Florilegium and the Philharmonia Orchestra (London). Ms. Fryer made her Bayreuth Festival debut in 1993 singing the ‘Alt solo’ in PARSIFAL conducted by James Levine. She returned for the next five festivals (1994-1998) to sing Wellgunde in DAS RHEINGOLD and GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG (James Levine) and Erste Knappe in PARSIFAL (Giuseppe Sinopoli). She also took part in video recordings of both GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG and PARSIFAL for Unitel. Other operatic engagements include Flora in LA TRAVIATA for Opera Ireland (David Lloyd-Jones) and Wellgunde in GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG for L’Opéra de Nantes (Guido Ajmones-Marsan), in Turin in concert performances with National Symphony of RAI (Eliahu Inbal) and at La Scala, Milan (Riccardo Muti). Ms Fryer has recorded the alto solo in the Rachmaninov VESPERS with the Philharmonia Chorus (London) and she sings the Angel in a recording of Elgar’s THE DREAM OF GERONTIUS with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, directed by David Hill. Notable European concert engagements include Haydn’s HARMONIEMESSE and Bach’s MATTHÄUS PASSION with The Bach Choir at the Royal Festival Hall, London and two appearances at The Three Choirs Festival in a new commission by Francis Pott and in Elgar’s CORONATION ODE. Performances in Canada include the Duruflé REQUIEM at the Calgary Organ Festival and for Festival Vancouver, Schubert’s MASS IN A FLAT with the CBC Orchestra under Helmuth Rilling and the Calgary Philharmonic with Mario Bernardi, and the Verdi REQUIEM, Beethoven’s SYMPHONY No. 9, De Falla’s THREE CORNERED HAT and Prokofiev’s ALEXANDER NEVSKY with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra under Bramwell Tovey. Other notable performances include Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 and Mozart’s REQUIEM with the Victoria Symphony Orchestra, ELIJAH with the Vancouver Symphony, Bach’s MASS IN B MINOR with the Vancouver Bach Choir, Haydn and Bruckner with the Kathaumixw Festival in British Columbia and FOUR POEMS OF ST. TERESA OF AVILA by Lennox Berkeley, with The Southern Sinfonia in Britain. An experienced recitalist, Sarah Fryer has performed with many notable accompanists including Martin Isepp & Anthony Legge. She has had the honour of preparing repertoire with Dame Janet Baker and with Belgian soprano Suzanne Danco, as well as working in public masterclasses with Sir Peter Pears, Hugues Cuenod, Heather Harper, Nancy Evans Kurt Equiluz and Galina Vishnevskaya. In January 2003 she performed a group of songs, accompanied by Bramwell Tovey, at a reception given by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra in honour of Mstislav Rostropovich, during what turned out to be his final visit to Vancouver. Sarah is an enthusiastic chamber musician who enjoys collaborating with other singers and instrumentalists. She recently took part in performances of Mozart’s REQUIEM arranged for four solo voices and string quartet. She also performed and recorded for CBC radio, a work entitled I REMEMBER, based on the Diary of Anne Frank by the American composer, Michael Cohen, for mezzo-soprano, flute, cello and harp. This piece, a second work by Michael Cohen and songs by Jake Heggie, Owen Underhill, and Andre Previn are included on a new CD she recently recorded with pianist Jane Hayes, harpist Rita Costanzi, flautist Brenda Fedoruk and cellist Zoltan Rozsnyai. During the 2006-2007 season Sarah Fryer was Guest Soloist for the Victoria Symphony Christmas Pops concerts, performed Monteverdi’s VESPERS OF 1610 for VancouverVoices, MESSIAH for the Okanagan Singers, ISRAEL IN EGYPT with the Vancouver Bach Choir and Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with the Regina Symphony. She was a jury member at the 2006 International Choral Kathaumixw in Powell River, B.C. and she enjoyed her private voice teaching, working with a small group of advanced students and young professional singers. Ms. Fryer’s 2007-2008 engagements included Duruflé’s REQUIEM and Bach’s JOHANNES PASSION for VancouverVoices, Mahler’s LIEDER AUS DEN FAHRENDEN GESELLEN and Jean Coulthard’s SHELLEY PORTRAIT with Turning Point Ensemble, Grieg’s PEER GYNT SUITE with the Victoria Symphony and Elgar’s DREAM OF GERONTIUS with Ben Heppner and the Vancouver Symphony. Other recent and future engagements include Mozart’s REQUIEM with the Leeds Philharmonic Choir and the Royal Liverpool Orchestra, a “Last Night at the Proms” concert with the Toronto Symphony and the Alto II solos in Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 with the Vancouver Symphony conducted by Bramwell Tovey.
August 2010 Full RepertoireOpera
Concert
Concert Repertoire with Orchestra
Wide recital repertoire of French , German and English song. Sample programmes sent upon request. Engaged By
Reviews“Of the four soloists, velvet-toned mezzo-soprano Sarah Fryer had the plum assignment: her Agnus Dei was eloquent and affecting.” The Vancouver Sun – David Gordon
“The high point is the ‘Pie Jesu’ with its radiant mezzo-soprano solo, which Sarah Fryer flooded with passionate, beautiful tone. It was subtle and fervent and touched people, to go by the many bowed heads.” The Georgia Straight – Lloyd Dykk |