About
British Australian soprano Samantha Crawford is equally at home on the opera stage as she is on the concert platform, who has been praised for her ‘unconstricted soprano radiance,’ (Opera) and ‘crystalline tone and diction.’ (The Arts Desk).
A versatile artist, Samantha’s opera roles include Sieglinde and Ortlinde in Die Walküre, Elisabeth in Tannhäuser, Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana, the title role in Suor Angelica, Agathe in Der Freischütz, Miss Jessel in The Turn of the Screw, Mrs. Coyle in Owen Wingrave, Regan in Keith Warner’s production of Tippett’s New Year, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte, Contessa Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro, Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus and Ofglen in Ruders’ The Handmaid’s Tale for opera houses including Teatro Real Madrid, ENO, Glyndebourne, Scottish Opera, the Aldeburgh and Edinburgh Festivals, Garsington Opera and Théâtre municipal de Fontainebleau. Her performances at Teatro Real, both in Robert Carsen’s production of Die Walküre and Claus Guth’s production of Parsifal, were filmed for television and broadcast to cinemas across Spain. She has worked with conductors such as Semyon Bychkov, Pablo Heras-Casado, Mark Wigglesworth, Vasily Petrenko, Thierry Fischer, Martyn Brabbins and Sir Colin Davis.
In 2023, Samantha released her debut album, dream.risk.sing: elevating women’s voices, to critical acclaim with pianist Lana Bode on Delphian Records. Praised as ‘one of the most arresting recording-debuts I’ve heard all year’ (Presto Music), dream.risk.sing includes Charlotte Bray’s Crossing Faultlines, a song cycle exploring women’s experiences in the workplace which was commissioned especially for the project, and received its world première at Oxford International Song Festival. The album also features the first ever recordings of Crossing Faultlines, Libby Larsen’s songs from her The Birth Project and songs from Judith Weir’s woman.life.song. It is supported by Arts Council England and the RVW Trust.
“As Elisabeth, Samantha Crawford was also inspired casting. The silvery gleam in her voice produced a trumpet- like ‘Dich, teure Halle’, and then she sang a beautifully remote prayer to the Jungfrau…She engaged with the role, and it was thrilling.”
OPERA
“In Cavalleria rusticana Alexey Dolgov’s superb Tenor as Turiddu rubs shoulders with Samantha Crawford’s beautiful soprano as Santuzza.”
MUSICOMH
In 2024, Samantha began working with pianist Charlotte Forrest on producing a new programme and album, Freedom Cries Out, telling stories of displaced people and refugees in partnership with Refugee Education UK. The programme features the world premiere of a song cycle by Raymond Yiu especially commissioned for the project and supported by awards from the RVW Foundation and Finzi Friends. It includes the UK premiere of Shawn Okpebholo’s song cycle, Words Like Freedom. The programme will premiere in February at Blackheath Halls, London.
Equally at home in concert, she has performed across the UK, Europe and Asia. Recent engagements include performances at the Wigmore Hall, Royal Albert Hall, the Barbican, Hong Kong City Hall and Schlosstheater Schönbrunn. With notable repertoire including Verdi’s Requiem, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Strauss’s Vier letzte Lieder, Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder, Dvořák’s Stabat Mater and Vaughan Williams’ Sea Symphony.
Samantha studied with Yvonne Kenny AM as a Baroness de Turckheim Scholar at the Guildhall School of Music gaining both Bachelor and Master of Music degrees and graduated from the Opera Course with Distinction. She was awarded the Golden Medal with Honours at the 2017 Berliner International Music Competition; the 2017/18 NSW Wagner Society Award for Emerging Wagner Singers; and, in 2016, won First Prize and the President’s Prize at the Wagner Society Singing Competition in London.
From 2016-2020 Samantha was the Co-Founder and Director of the Creative Professionals Network Australia, hosting networking events at Australia House with the High Commission of Australia in the UK. CPN charity events supported the work of Home For Good and International Justice Mission. Committed to the development of young artists, Samantha joined the Board of Trustees at The Australian Music Foundation in 2024.
Media
Watch Samantha perform ‘The ride of the Valkyries’ from Act 3 of Wagner’s Die Walküre at Teatro Real, Madrid.