Sarah Connolly
Mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly has been one of Britain's most versatile and committed singers, with a repertory ranging from Monteverdi to newly commissioned works. Her recording career has been notable for a variety of independently conceived recital recordings, as well as appearances in major operatic and choral works.
Connolly was born in County Durham in North East England on June 13, 1963, and grew up in Middleton St. George. She sang in a village choir and studied piano and cello as a youngster in addition to singing. At Queen Margaret's Boarding School, she continued with piano and was impressed by her sister's performance in Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, but continued to focus on piano at the Clarendon College of Further Education (as well as winning college championships in tennis and table tennis). Connolly even earned a piano education degree at the Royal College of Music before switching definitively to singing. After graduating, she joined the BBC Singers and became a freelance choral singer, flirting as well with a jazz career. A second-place finish at the International Vocal Competition s'Hertogenbosch, Opera Section, as well as meeting teacher Gerald Martin Moore confirmed her choice of classical music, and she landed solos in Bach concerts conducted by Philippe Herreweghe in the 1990s. In 1997, she made her recording debut on an album of Bach Advent Cantatas conducted by Herreweghe, with his Collegium Vocale, on the Harmonia Mundi label.
She continued to make inroads into the early music scene, recording Rameau's Les Fêtes d'Hébé with William Christie's Les Arts Florissants and performing the title role in Handel's Xerxes in several houses, including the New York City Opera. Gaining a reputation as a Handel specialist, she has moved into Romantic and contemporary repertory as well, performing heavy works such as Mahler's Rückert-Lieder and Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius; in 2011, as part of the observances of the centenary of Mahler's death, she performed all his vocal works with the Philharmonia Orchestra. Connolly has also supported contemporary music, performing and recording Mark-Anthony Turnage's Twice Through the Heart.
Connolly's extensive recording career includes many song recitals, both orchestral and voice-and-piano, that were original in conception. These included The Exquisite Hour (2006), which inaugurated her ongoing relationship with the Signum label. Connolly appeared with the choir Tenebrae on the 2017 release A Walk with Ivor Gurney. That year, she was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire. Connolly also recorded for Chandos, and for that label, she appeared on collections of pieces by Elgar, Arthur Bliss, and Frank Bridge between 2018 and 2022. In 2022, she released a complete recording of the songs of Henri Duparc on Signum Classics.
© James Manheim /TiVo
Similar artists
Discography
20 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
-
Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde (Live)
Robert Dean Smith, Sarah Connolly, Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Vladimir Jurowski
Classical - Released by PENTATONE on 28 Aug 2020
Gramophone: Recording of the Month24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Bob Chilcott: Christmas Oratorio
Sarah Connolly, Nick Pritchard, Neal Davies
Classical - Released by Delphian Records on 3 Nov 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mahler Songs
Joseph Middleton, Sarah Connolly
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by Signum Records on 28 Jul 2023
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Live at the Cutty Sark
Oliver Zeffman, Sarah Connolly, Philharmonia Orchestra
Classical - Released by Ozero Records on 14 Apr 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Sonnett für Wien
Iain Burnside, William Dazeley, Sarah Connolly
Classical - Released by Signum Records on 2 Mar 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Offenbach: Fantasio
Classical - Released by Opera Rara on 1 Jan 2014
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Heroes and Heroines - Handel
Sarah Connolly, Harry Christophers
Classical - Released by CORO on 20 May 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Elgar: The Dream of Gerontius - Sea Pictures
Sarah Connolly, Stuart Skelton, BBC Symphony Chorus, David Soar, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Andrew Davis
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by Chandos on 29 Sep 2014
Gramophone Award24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
The Exquisite Hour
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by Signum Records on 9 Feb 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
My True Love Hath My Heart - English Songs
Classical - Released by Chandos on 1 Oct 2011
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Purcell / Locke / Blow / Gibbons - Wigmore Hall Live
The English Concert, Rosemay Joshua, Sarah Connolly
Classical - Released by Wigmore Hall Live on 9 Jun 2017
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Duruflé Requiem
Vasari Singers, Sarah Connolly, Christopher Maltman, Robert Cohen
Classical - Released by Signum Records on 1 May 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rückert-Lieder (Version for Voice & Piano): No. 4, Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen
Joseph Middleton, Sarah Connolly
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by Signum Records on 29 Jun 2023
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Rückert-Lieder (Version for Voice & Piano): No. 1, Ich atmet' einen linden Duft!
Joseph Middleton, Sarah Connolly
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by Signum Records on 13 Jul 2023
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mahler: Das Lied Von Der Erde
Sarah Connolly, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Toby Spence, Yannick Nézet-Séguin
Classical - Released by London Philharmonic Orchestra on 30 Sep 2013
Gramophone Editor's Choice16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Turnage: Songs
Sarah Connolly, Gerald Finley, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Marin Alsop, Martin Robertson
Classical - Released by London Philharmonic Orchestra on 1 Feb 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Turnage: Songs
Marin Alsop, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sarah Connolly, Martin Robertson, Gerald Finley
Classical - Released by London Philharmonic Orchestra on 1 Feb 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
-