Carolyn Margaret Sampson (born 18 May 1974) is an English

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

in opera and concert. Specialising in

historically informed performance Historically informed performance (also referred to as period performance, authentic performance, or HIP) is an approach to the performance of Western classical music, classical music which aims to be faithful to the approach, manner and style of ...

, she has sung in Masaaki Suzuki's recording project of Bach cantatas and has appeared at the

English National Opera English National Opera (ENO) is a British opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with The Royal Opera. ENO's productions are sung in E ...

Career

Born in

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population was 106,940. Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire and seat of the Borough of Bedford local government district. Bedford was founded at a ford (crossin ...

, she studied music at the

Birmingham University The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...

. During her studies, she performed as a member of the choir

Ex Cathedra Papal infallibility is a Dogma in the Catholic Church, dogma of the Catholic Church which states that, in virtue of the promise of Jesus to Saint Peter, Peter, the Pope when he speaks is preserved from the possibility of error on doctrine "in ...

, winning an Arnold Goldsbrough Prize for Baroque music. She made her operatic debut singing the part of Amore in Monteverdi's ''

L'incoronazione di Poppea ''L'incoronazione di Poppea'' (Stattkus-Verzeichnis, SV 308, ''The Coronation of Poppaea'') is an Italian List of operas by Claudio Monteverdi, opera by Claudio Monteverdi. It was Monteverdi's last opera, with a libretto by Giovanni Francesco Buse ...

'' at the

. In 2006 she performed in Montpellier, both as Susanna in Mozart's ''

Le nozze di Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' (, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premiered at the Burgtheater in Vienna ...

'' and as Adina in Donizetti's ''

L'elisir d'amore ''L'elisir d'amore'' (; ''The Elixir of Love'') is a (comic melodrama, opera buffa) in two acts by the Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Felice Romani wrote the Italian libretto, after Eugène Scribe's libretto for Daniel Auber's (1831). ...

''. Sampson sang the title role in the Boston Early Music Festival's production of Lully's ''

Psyché Psyche (''Psyché'' in French) is the Greek term for "soul" ( ψυχή). Psyche or La Psyché may also refer to: Psychology * Psyche (psychology), the totality of the human mind, conscious and unconscious * ''Psyche'', an 1846 book about the unc ...

'' in June 2007. Jeremy Eichler of the ''

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

'' wrote that she "gave a radiant and pure-voiced performance". The opera was subsequently recorded, and received a nomination for the

Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording The Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording has been awarded since 1961. The award was originally titled Best Classical Opera Production. The current title has been used since 1962. Prior to 1961 the awards for operatic and choral performances wer ...

in December 2008. Sampson has performed as a concert soloist in sacred oratorios such as Bach's ''

St Matthew Passion The ''St Matthew Passion'' (), BWV 244, is a '' Passion'', a sacred oratorio written by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1727 for solo voices, double choir and double orchestra, with libretto by Picander. It sets the 26th and 27th chapters of th ...

'' with

The English Concert The English Concert is a baroque orchestra playing on period instruments based in London. Founded in 1972 and directed from the harpsichord by Trevor Pinnock for 30 years, it is now directed by harpsichordist Harry Bicket. Nadja Zwiener has b ...

conducted by Trevor Pinnock and Haydn's '' Schöpfung'' with the

London Mozart Players London Mozart Players (LMP) are a British chamber orchestra founded in 1949. LMP are the longest-established chamber orchestra in the United Kingdom. Since 1989, the orchestra has been Resident Orchestra at Fairfield Halls, Croydon. History Begin ...

. In January 2010, she appeared at the

Gewandhaus Gewandhaus () is a concert hall in Leipzig, the home of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. Today's hall is the third to bear this name; like the second, it is noted for its fine acoustics. History The first Gewandhaus (''Altes Gewandhaus'') The ...

in Bach's ''

Christmas Oratorio The ''Christmas Oratorio'' (German: ''Weihnachtsoratorium''), , is an oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach intended for performance in church during the Christmas season. It is in six parts, each part a cantata intended for performance in a churc ...

'', conducted by Riccardo Chailly. She has also sung with the NDR Radiophilharmonie, the

Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin The Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra (''Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin'') is a German symphony orchestra based in Berlin. In Berlin, the orchestra gives concerts at the Konzerthaus Berlin and at the Berliner Philharmonie. The orchestra has al ...

and the Freiburger Barockorchester. Sampson was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) in the

2024 New Year Honours The 2024 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Hono ...

for services to music.

Recording

In 2005, Sampson was the first to record all twelve stanzas of Bach's aria '' Alles mit Gott und nichts ohn' ihn, BWV 1127'', discovered in 2005. She recorded it, conducted by Masaaki Suzuki, together with Bach's popular cantata for soprano and trumpet '' Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen, BWV 51''. In 2007, she recorded with Suzuki Bach's Mass in B minor, with Rachel Nicholls, Robin Blaze, Gerd Türk and Peter Kooy. A review noted: "The soloists are uniformly strong, and are major names in Bach performance. Carolyn Sampson leads the sopranos with a tone at once rich but still pure". In 2010, she was the soprano soloist in a recording of Bach's '' Weihnachts-Oratorium'' with the Dresdner Kammerchor and the Gewandhausorchester, conducted by Riccardo Chailly, with Wiebke Lehmkuhl (alto), Martin Lattke (tenor) as the Evangelist, Wolfram Lattke (tenor) and Konstantin Wolff (bass). Her recording ''A French Baroque Diva'', music written for the soprano Marie Fel and recorded with

conducted by Jeffrey Skidmore, won a Gramophone Award 2015 (Recital category). The review noted "the longer we listen to Sampson's voice, the more she seems to inhabit the aura of Fel, clearly a skilled and charismatic yet deeply affecting performer".

Selected recordings

Jan Dismas Zelenka Jan Dismas Zelenka (16 October 1679 – 23 December 1745), baptised Jan Lukáš Zelenka was a Bohemian composer and musician of the Baroque period. His music is admired for its harmonic inventiveness and mastery of counterpoint. Zelenka was ...

: ''Sacred Music'' Hyperion 2002 * Jean Philippe Rameau: ''Règne Amour. Love songs from opera'' Hyperion 2003 * ''J.S. Bach: Secular Cantatas Vol. 1'' ( BWV 210, BWV 211) BIS 2003 * ''J.S. Bach: Cantatas Vol. 30'' ('' Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen, BWV 51'', '' Alles mit Gott, nichts ohn' ihn, BWV 1127''), BIS 2005 * ''J.S. Bach: Cantatas Vol. 34'' ( BWV 1, BWV 127), BIS 2005 * Purcell: ''

The Fairy-Queen ''The Fairy-Queen'' (1692; Purcell catalogue number Z.629) is a semi-opera by Henry Purcell; a "Restoration spectacular". The libretto is an anonymous adaptation of William Shakespeare's comedy ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''. First performed in ...

'' Arts Blue 2005 * Mozart: '' Exsultate, jubilate'' Hyperion 2005 *

George Frideric Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti. Born in Halle, Germany, H ...

: ''Duets from the Great English Oratorios'' BIS Records 2006 * Handel: '' Ode for St. Cecilia's Day'' Hyperion 2006 * Handel: ''Neun deutsche Arien'' Hyperion 2006 * ''J.S. Bach: Cantatas Vol. 38'' ( BWV 52, BWV 58), BIS 2006 * ''J.S. Bach: Cantatas Vol. 39'' ( BWV 28, BWV 68, BWV 85, BWV 183), BIS 2007 * Handel: ''

Solomon Solomon (), also called Jedidiah, was the fourth monarch of the Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy), Kingdom of Israel and Judah, according to the Hebrew Bible. The successor of his father David, he is described as having been the penultimate ...

'' Harmonia Mundi 2007 * Purcell: ''Victorious Love'' BIS 2007 * ''Cantatas, Vol. 41'' BWV 84, BIS 2008 *

Jean-Baptiste Lully Jean-Baptiste Lully ( – 22 March 1687) was a French composer, dancer and instrumentalist of Italian birth, who is considered a master of the French Baroque music style. Best known for his operas, he spent most of his life working in the court o ...

: ''Psyché'' CPO 2008 * Handel: ''Parnasso in festa'' HWV 73 * Bach: '' Weihnachts-Oratorium'' (with Chailly),

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, record label * Decca Gold, classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, musical theater record label * Decca Studios, recording facility in West ...

2010 * Thomas-Louis Bourgeois: Cantates, Carus 2012 * ''A French Baroque Diva'' Hyperion 2014 * ''Carolyn Sampson - Fleurs'' BIS 2015 * ''J.S. Bach: Secular Cantatas Vol. 6'' (BWV 1083) BIS 2016 * ''A Verlaine Songbook'' BIS 2016 * Mozart: ''Great Mass in C minor'' BIS 2016 * ''J.S. Bach: Cantatas for Soprano Vol. 6'' (BWV 199, BMV 152, BMV 202) Harmonia Mundi 2017 * ''Lost is My Quiet - Duets and Solo Songs'' BIS 2017 * ''Carolyn Sampson - A Soprano’s Schubertiade'' BIS 2018 * ''The Contrast - English Poetry in Song'' BIS 2019

References

External links

Official website

Carolyn Sampson
Hyperion
Carolyn Sampson

Göttingen International Handel Festival The Göttingen International Handel Festival (German, ''Internationale Händel-Festspiele Göttingen'') is a German festival of baroque music, based in Göttingen, Germany. The festival was established in 1919 by Oskar Hagen, art historian and f ...

Carolyn Sampson

The Proms The BBC Proms is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in central London. Robert Newman founded The Proms in 1895. Since 1927, the ...

Carolyn Sampson: Les Sirènes. Thomas-Louis Bourgeois - Cantates
arus-Verlag {{DEFAULTSORT:Sampson, Carolyn 1974 births Living people English operatic sopranos Musicians from Bedford Alumni of the University of Birmingham 21st-century British women opera singers English performers of early music Women performers of early music Officers of the Order of the British Empire