Described by the Times as “mesmerising with an intensity that almost sears the flesh” Clare Presland is a former winner of the Chilcott Award and has firmly established herself on the international operatic and concert platforms. 

 

Current and future engagements for Clare Presland include PIA in the world premiere of Turnage’s Festen Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, her debut with Staatsoper Hamburg and Teatro dell’opera de Roma for Peter Grimes, Ligeti’s Requiem London Philharmonic Orchestra and BBC Proms, AKSINYA/FEMALE CONVICT Lady Macbeth of Mtsenk Staatsoper Hamburg, COUNTESS SUSANNA Il segreto di Susanna revival Opera Holland Park, Dani Howard’s one woman show Yellow Wallpaper (world premiere) Copenhagen Festival, Sadlers Wells and Opera Nova Festival in Prague. 

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Clare’s recent operatic performances include: QUEEN OF HEARTS & Red Queen in Gerald Barry’s Alice’s Adventures Under Ground, a co-production with Royal Opera House Covent Garden and Irish National Opera (recently released on video), SECOND ESQUIRE AND VOICE FROM ABOVE in Parsifal at Liceu Barcelona, MRS LOVETT West Green Opera, a return to English National Opera for Die tote Stadt, A Midsummer Night’s Dream Opéra de Lille, POPOVA in Walton’s The Bear Opera Holland Park, COUNTESS SUSANNA Il segreto di Susanna Opera Holland Park and Scottish OperaAKSINYA Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk Opéra de Lyon, VARVARA Káťa Kabanová Opera Holland Park, KOMPONIST Ariadne auf Naxos Longborough Festival Opera, La Traviata Théatre des Champs Elysées and Musikfest Bremen, HERMIA A Midsummer Night’s Dream Hyogo Performing Arts Centre, Japan, English National Opera and Aldeburgh Festival, PATIENT 2 Venables’ 4.48 Psychosis (world premiere) Royal Opera House, Covent Garden at the Lyric Hammersmith, CHRISTINA Eichberg’s Glare (world premiere) Linbury Studio Theatre ROH, RED QUEEN Gerald Barry’s Alice’s Adventures Under Ground RTE Concert Orchestra, New Music Dublin, FENENA Nabucco Chelsea Opera Group, Cadogen Hall, KITCHEN BOY Rusalka Scottish Opera, CARMEN (title role) & MISS JESSEL The Turn of the Screw Nevill Holt Opera. 

 

Since making her acclaimed debut as PALESTINIAN WOMAN The Death of Klinghoffer at the English National Opera, she has since appeared there in productions such as REALTOR Tansy Davies’ Between Worlds (world premiere), WARDROBE MISTRESS/SCHOOLBOY/PAGE Lulu,  SONYETKA Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, PAGE Salome, FLORA La Traviata, MERCEDES (Cover Carmen) Carmen, MARGRET (cover MARIE) Wozzeck, WOWKLE La fanciulla del West and SECOND LADY The Magic Flute. 

 

On the concert platform: her Wigmore Hall debut singing the world premiere of Alexander Goehr's Combat of Joseph de la Reina and the Devil with the Nash Ensemble,  A Song on the End of the World by Francis Potts with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the Three Choirs Festival, her Barbican Hall debut in Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Other recent concert engagements include appearances at festivals such as Al Bustan, Weesp Chamber Music Festival and Musique a Marsac performing large scale concert works such as Wagner Wesendonck Lieder, Fauré La Bonne Chanson, Berlioz Les Nuits d’été, Mozart Requiem, Dvorak & Rossini Stabat Mater. 

 

Clare has enjoyed working with many renowned conductors including Edward Gardner, Mark Wigglesworth, Thomas Adès, Kazushi Ono, Sian Edwards, Gianluca Marciano and Yutaka Sado. In recital, she enjoys collaborating with pianists James Baillieu, Iain Burnside, Simon Lepper, Tom Poster, Alasdair Beatson and the Navarra Quartet.