Carolyn Sampson comes from Bedford and read music at the University of Birmingham. She currently studies with Richard Smart and Jonathan Papp.
She has sung the title role of Semele and Pamina The Magic Flute with English National Opera as well as roles in The Coronation of Poppea and The Fairy Queen with the company, First Niece in Peter Grimes for Opéra de Paris, Euridice and La Musica in L’Orfeo with Le Concert d’Astrée, at The Barbican, Asteria Tamerlano for Opéra de Lille and Antonia The Tales of Hoffmann in concert with Richard Hickox at the St Endellion Festival
Carolyn’s concert engagements have included Messiah with The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment a US tour with The King’s Consort as featured soloist, Bach St Matthew Passion with The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra/Philippe Herreweghe, St John Passion with The Freiburg Baroque Orchestra/Gustav Leonhardt, Monteverdi Vespers with The Washington Bach Consort/Harry Christophers, St Matthew Passion at the BBC Proms with The English Concert / Pinnock, Esther in New York with The Gabrieli Consort / Paul McCreesh, Les Illuminations with the Manchester Camerata/Nicholas Kraemer, Stravinsky and Bach with La Chapelle Royale, Mendelssohn and Schubert with Orchestre des Champs Elysées / Herreweghe and Mozart and Gluck with Music of the Baroque, Chicago / Harry Bicket. Together with Robin Blaze she has given a joint recital at the Wigmore Hall. She has also performed with Hallé Orchestra / Mark Elder, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Scottish Chamber Orchestra/Stephen Layton, Ensemble Baroque de Limoges / Christophe Coin, Il Giardino Armonico/Giovanni Antonini, RIAS Kammerchor, Holland Sinfonia, the City of London Sinfonia and Sonnerie and has toured Belgium, Germany and France with Collegium Vocale Gent.
She has appeared in The Proms Chamber Music Series and given recitals for BBC Radio 3, at the Saintes Festival with Jonathan Papp and a programme of lute songs at the Wigmore Hall with Matthew Wadsworth. She has recorded 15 discs as soloist with The King’s Consort for Hyperion of Kuhnau, Knüpfer, Vivaldi, Zelenka, Monteverdi and Handel. Also she has recorded Bach for Harmonia Mundi and Bis, Orfeo for Virgin Classics, Amor in Gluck’s Elena e Paride for DG Archiv, Buxtehude for Linn Records and lute songs for Avie. Her disc of Rameau Opera Arias Règne Amour, with Ex Cathedra and Jeffrey Skidmore, has received great critical acclaim.
Carolyn’s future opera engagements include Susanna Le Nozze di Figaro for Opéra de Montpellier. In coming seasons she will make début appearances with the San Francisco Symphony, Detroit Symphony, NDR Symphony Orchestra and Wiener Akademie. Her recording plans include Bach with The Gabrieli Consort / McCreesh for DG Archiv and with Bach Collegium Japan/Suzuki for BIS; Mozart sacred work with The King’s Consort / King for Hyperion and Stravinsky and Handel with the RIAS Kammerchor / Reuss for Harmonia Mundi.