Victoria Simmonds

Victoria Simmonds studied with David Pollard at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama where her roles included Rosina/Il barbiere di Siviglia, Tina in Argento’s The Aspern Papers and Celia in Haydn’s La Fedelta Premiata. She is a recipient of the Countess of Munster Prize. In 1999 she sang an acclaimed Rosina for British Youth Opera, Erika in the UK premiere of Barber’s Vanessa, Sesto/La Clemenza di Tito for Glyndebourne Touring Opera as well as covering Annio/Clemenza and Stewardess/Flight for the Glyndebourne Festival.

In 2000 Victoria Simmonds appeared at the Royal Opera House in the English Bach Festival’s production of Handel’s Oreste and made her English National Opera debut as Nancy T’ang, First Secretary to Mao in Adam’s Nixon in China, conducted by Paul Daniel and directed by Peter Sellars. She was a company principal at English National Opera from 2000 to 2005 where her roles included Cherubino/Figaro, Mercedes/Carmen, Zaida/The Turk in Italy, Pitti-Sing/The Mikado, Ascanius/The Trojans, Rosina/The Barber of Seville, Dorabella/Così fan tutte, Hermia/A Midsummer Night's Dream and Zerlina/Don Giovanni. During the summer of 2001 she sang a staged performance of Handel’s solo cantata La Lucrezia at the Batignano Festival in Italy, and other festival engagements include the title role in La Perichole in the 2002 Buxton Festival, Ines/Maria Padilla in the 2003 Buxton Festival, the title role of Carmen for Raymond Gubbay Limited at the Royal Albert Hall in February 2005, Isolier/Le Comte Ory for Garsington Opera, Meg Page/Falstaff for Grange Park Opera and Olga/ Eugene Onegin for Opera Holland Park. In the spring of 2005 she made her debut at the Netherlands Opera singing Lucienne/Die Tote Stadt (Korngold). In the 2006 Aix Festival she sang Wellgunde/ Das Rheingold conducted by Sir Simon Rattle, also in a concert version with the Berlin Philharmonic
in Berlin and at the 2007 Salzburg Easter Festival. In 2007 she sang the title role in Ravel L’enfant et le sortiligès at the Concertgebouw, and sang the title role in the world première of Jonathan Dove’s Pinocchio for Opera North to much critical acclaim.

Victoria Simmonds appears in recital and concert throughout the UK and Europe and recent concert engagements have included the Philharmonia in the Royal Festival Hall, Janacek Diary of one who disappeared for the Hallé, Ascanius/Les troyens with the London Symphony Orchestra and Sir Colin Davis at the 2003 BBC Proms, Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the 2005 BBC Proms, de Falla’s El sombrero de tres picos with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra under Neeme Järvi at the 2007 Edinburgh International Festival, Mozart Coronation Mass in the Salzburg Festival with the Mozarteum Orchester and Ivor Bolton, and a recording and concert of Rossini’s Ermioni for Opera Rara.

Recent and future commitments include a recording of Bellini’s Il pirata with Opera Rara, Idamante/ Idomeneo for the 2010 Buxton Festival, further performances of Dorabella/Così for Opera North, a reprise her performance in the title role of Pinocchio also for Opera North and Zaida/Il turco in Italia for Garsington Opera. She will sing a major role in the world premiere of Written on Skin, a new opera by George Benjamin at the Aix Festival in 2012, with subsequent performances at the Netherlands Opera, Toulouse, The Royal Opera House Covent Garden, La Scala Milan, the Wiener Festwochen, and the Bavarian State Opera Munich.