|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Born in Edinburgh, Sandra Porter studied at the Royal College of Music, London, where she was awarded several prestigious scholarships and awards. Sandra began her working life as a song recitalist and concert soloist appearing with amongst others: The Scottish Sinfonia at the Edinburgh Festival, The Chamber Group of Scotland, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Symphony of Harmony and Invention, International Festival Chorus, Scottish Bach Choir, Sentieri selvaggi, Telemann Ensemble, International Baroque Players, and Nonesuch Early Music Ensemble. She has worked with composers and conductors including: James MacMillan, Thomas Wilson, Edward McGuire, Janet Beat, Sally Beamish, Edward Gardner, Martyn Brabbins, Roger Norrington, Oliver Gooch, Harry Christophers, Roderick Bryden and Wyn Davies. Abroad her concert work has taken her to Tokyo, Milan, Germany, China, the Middle and Far East and to France. She worked and performed with the accompanist Malcolm Martineau and in addition to her extensive and varied song repertoire she commissioned, performed and recorded several new works for voice and piano and often broadcast for BBC Radio 3 and Radio Scotland. Sandra initially gained experience on the opera stage performing the roles of Dorabella (Cosi fan tutte) , Bianca (The Rape of Lucretia), Cherubino (Le nozze di Figaro), Rosina (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Cenerentola (Cenerentola), Carmen (Carmen), Marcellina (premiere of Giles Swayne's Le nozze di Cherubino, Queen Vaan (Columba by Kenneth Leighton), Maddalena (Rigoletto), Dryad (Ariadne auf Naxos), Fidalma (Il Matrimonio Segreto), Geills (The Abbot of Drimock) by Thea Musgrave, Lucretia (The Rape of Lucretia), Mercedes (Carmen) and Suzuki (Madame Butterfly). |
Photograph by Patricia Rodwell |
|
Sandra is an accomplished singer and actress and at home in both comic and dramatic roles (as reviewed in Opera Talent - "She proved time and time again that excellent character acting and great projected singing are not mutually incompatible!"). She performed roles including Katisha (Mikado), Suzuki (Madame Butterfly), Lucia (Cavalleria Rusticana),Filipyevna (Eugene Onegin), The Witch (Hansel and Gretel), Mother (Der Jasager by Kurt Weill), Berta (Barber of Seville), Juno (Semele), Storge (Jeptha), Mrs. Noah (Noyes Fludde), Mrs McLean (Susannah) for companies including Iford Arts, Cork Opera House, Opera Holland Park, Buxton Festival Opera, Grimebourne, Stanley Hall Opera and English Touring Opera. From November 2010 she worked for English National Opera in roles: Martha (Faust), Ericlea (The Return of Ulysses), Marcellina (The Marriage of Figaro), Filipyevna (Eugene Onegin), Swiss Grandmother (The Death of Klinghoffer) and Governess (Queen of Spades). |
|