Rayfield Artists - Emma Curtis

EMMA CURTIS

Contralto

"...a statuesque contralto with a luscious lower range..." - New York Times

Emma Curtis studied at the Guildhall School of Music and at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California where she worked with Marilyn Horne. She was a full-time member of the Solo Ensemble at the Staatstheater Stuttgart from 2003 to 2006.

Ms. Curtis debuted at the Staatstheater Stuttgart as Nutrice L'incoronazione di Poppea and then in 2001/02 sang Ericlea Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria. In 2003/04 she sang Pastore II in Monteverdi's Orfeo with Jean-Claude Malgoire, Eine Kranke and 4. nackte Jungfrau in Schönberg's Moses und Aron conducted by Lothar Zagrosek, and Poklizecka in Janacek's The Makropolous Case, conducted by Sylvain Cambreling.

As a Baroque specialist Ms. Curtis has performed the title role in Cavalli's Giasone for Aspen Music Festival 2005 conducted by Harry Bicket, Irene in Handel's Atalanta at the 2005 International Handel-Festival in Göttingen, Germany, conducted by Nicholas McGegan, Bertarido in Handel's Rodelinda in Santa Barbara, and Cleofe in Handel's La Resurrezione at the 2003 Lufthansa Baroque Festival in London, with Trevor Pinnock and The English Concert. In 2004 she performed Les Leçons de Ténèbres by Marc Antoine Charpentier, plus the world premiere of Les Leçons de Ténèbres by Philippe Fénelon, with La Grand Ecurie et la Chambre du Roy.

Other operatic appearances include Geneviève Pelléas et Mélisande, La principessa Suor Angelica, Third Lady Die Zauberflöte and Modestina Il viaggio a Reims in Santa Barbara, Quickly Falstaff for Festival Opus a Gattières, and Mother Goose The Rake's Progress and Maddelena Rigoletto.

Ms. Curtis's concert appearances include Sibelius's Jokamies with the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Thomas Adès and Janacek's Diary of One who Disappeared at the Aldeburgh Festival, and Vaughan Williams' Serenade to Music with Leonard Slatkin and the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the First Night of the BBC Proms 2001.

In 2006 Ms. Curtis created the role of Galatée in the world premiere of L'Astrée (Pastorale) by Gérard Pesson for Staatstheater Stuttgart, and earlier this year Ms. Curtis created the leading role of L'Ainée in the world premiere of Jacques Lenot's J'étais dans ma maison et j'attendais que la pluie vienne at Opera de Genève. June 2006 saw the release of Ms. Curtis's debut album Calliope, with The Frolick on Avie Records.

Future engagements include Au temps de Port Royal concerts with Les Arts Florissants and William Christie, and Eduige Rodelinda for Portland Opera, USA.