Martene Grimson - Soprano
Martene Grimson graduated from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music before moving to London where she completed her studies at the Royal College of Music’s Benjamin Britten Opera School and at the National Opera Studio. She was supported by the Royal Opera House, Countess of Munster Musical Scholarship and the Madeline Finden Memorial Award.
Martene was awarded second prize in the 2006 Kathleen Ferrier Competition and has given recitals at the Aldeburgh Festival, Wigmore Hall, Royal Opera House (in the Linbury Studio and Crush Room), St John’s Smith Square, Fairfield Hall and the Harrogate Festival.
Her recent concert engagements include Pulcinella with Scottish Chamber Orchestra under Thierry Fischer, Bernstein’s ‘Trouble in Tahiti’ with the Bayerischer Rundfunk at the Prinzregententheater, Munich, a concert performance as Dorinda (‘Orlando’) with Independent Opera at the Wigmore Hall, a Strauss tour of the UK for Raymond Gubbay; Haydn with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment under Frans Bruggen in London and Bristol; Gretel (‘Hansel and Gretel’) with the BBC Concert Orchestra under Charles Hazelwood at the Queen Elizabeth Hall and at the Chichester Festival; and Brahms’ ‘Requiem’ at the Royal Albert Hall under Sir David Wilcox.
Her operatic engagements include her role debut as Susanna (‘Le Nozze di Figaro’) for Opera East; Melia (‘Apollo and Hyacinthus’) and Sivene (‘Le Cinesi’) for Bampton Classical Opera; Ilia (‘Idomeneo’) for Pinchgut Opera in Sydney; First Witch (‘Dido and Aeneas’) for Opera North; Mrs Gleaton (Floydd’s ‘Susannah’) and Laurette (Bizet’s ‘Le Docteur Miracle’) for Wexford Festival. With the Classical Opera Company she has sung Hyacinthus (‘Apollo and Hyacinthus’), Aminta (‘Il Re Pastore’) and Lucio Cinna (‘Lucio Silla’). She recently made her debut for the Nationale Reisopera as Glauce (‘Medea’).
Her future engagements include performances of Howard Goodall’s Requiem ‘Eternal Light’ Tour with the Rambert Dance Company, a concert with the BBC Concert Orchestra at Watford Colosseum and she will sing the role of Sivene (‘Le Cinesi’) with Bampton Classical Opera at the Wigmore Hall.