Marta Fontanals-Simmons

Current and future engagements include LINDA in the world premiere of Mark-Anthony Turnage’s Festen, the title role in the world premiere of Gavin Giggins’ The Monstrous Child (Linbury) and SIEBEL Gounod’s Faust Royal Ballet and Opera, MATRIOSHA War and Peace, ERSTE MAGD Elektra Grand Théâtre de Genève, JACQUET Ethel Smyth’s The Wreckers, ZWEITE DAME Die Zauberflöte Glyndebourne Festival and Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester, Berlin, CHERUBINO Le Nozze di Figaro Garsington Opera & Théâtre de Champs Elysées and other world premieres as MARTA David Matthews’ Anna The Grange Festival, MARTA Francisco Coll’s Enemigo del Pueblo Les Arts Valencia and Teatro Real Madrid, Gavin Higgins’ The Faerie Bride (title role) Aldeburgh Festival, VLASTA The Passenger Teatro Real Madrid, EURIDICE WOMAN Birtwistle’s The Mask of Orpheus English National Opera, and AMANDO Le Grand Macabre Elbphilharmonie Hamburg.

Concert highlights include Beethoven 9th Symphony Aurora Orchestra at the BBC PROMS, Mozart Requiem Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Handel Messiah BBCNOW, Elijah and Stanford Requiem City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Berlioz La Captive BBC Symphony Orchestra, The Music Makers Philharmonia Orchestra, Sea Pictures Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Bach’s Christmas Oratorio Prague Symphony Orchestra, Le Grand Macabre Radio Filharmonisch Orkest, L’enfant et les sortilèges Stuttgarter Philharmoniker and Vaughan Williams Serenade to Music BBC Last Night of the Proms.

A committed recitalist, Marta has performed Mahler with Graham Johnson at Wigmore Hall, English Song with Iain Burnside at the Bath International Music Festival, Wigmore Hall and Lammermuir Festival, Wagner and Britten with Roger Vignoles at the Juan March Foundation, Madrid, Schubert, Mahler, Berlioz and Debussy with Sholto Kynoch at the Oxford International Song Festival, Life Victoria Barcelona and the Zeist Lieder Festival, Netherlands. Brahms and Turina with Christopher Glynn at the Barber Institute Concert Series, Female Composers with Simon Lepper at Lille Opera House and for BBCRadio3, Contemporary Music with Joanna McGregor and Lana Bode at the Aldeburgh Festival, Brahms with Bengt Forsberg at Den Norske Opera and with her trio The Erda Ensemble at Leeds Lieder, Roman River Festival and the Presteigne Festival.

Marta has dual British and Spanish nationality and graduated from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama with the Principal’s Prize and prestigious Gold Medal and was a Jerwood Artist at Glyndebourne Festival and Jeune Ensemble Member at the Grand Théâtre de Genève. She won the Prix de Lied at Le Concours international de chant-piano Nadia et Lili Boulanger in Paris, was a finalist in the 2017 Paris Opera Competition, 2014 Kathleen Ferrier Award at Wigmore Hall, London and has been a featured artist on eight discs including her debut album with collaborator Lana Bode I and Silence; Women’s Voices in American Song which received 5 star reviews.