biography

Last updated: February 2012

Soprano Natalie Raybould read music at St. Edmund Hall, Oxford, and graduated with first class honours. She then attended the Royal Academy of Music to study with Joy Mammen and Clara Taylor, supported by Countess of Munster Trust and alumni funding. Natalie graduated from Royal Academy Opera in 2002 with a Dip.RAM, the highest award for postgraduate study. She was recently awarded an Associateship of the Royal Academy of Music; a discretionary title for former students who have made a significant contribution to the music profession.

Natalie has extensive experience in both opera and theatre, and has a particular interest in contemporary performance. She has worked with Almeida Theatre, Opera North, ROH2, the National Theatre Studio, Opera Theatre Company Ireland, The Opera Group, The Royal Shakespeare Company, The Young Vic, Aldeburgh Productions and others in developing new operas and music theatre, and world premiere performances.

Opera credits for 2011 include An Anatomie in Four Quarters for Clod Ensemble at Sadler's Wells, Cousin Shelley (cover) in the premiere of Anna Nicole (Mark-Anthony Turnage) for the Royal Opera House, and the premiere of Dr. Quimpugh's Compendium of Peculiar Afflictions (Martin Ward) for Petersham Playhouse. Other role creations include Female Narrator in the world premiere of Pinocchio (Will Tuckett) for ROH2 (also BBC4), the soprano roles for Six Pack, an ENO Studio/Tête à Tête collaboration, Marie/Arnie the Snow Stoat in the premiere of Skitterbang Island, a puppeted opera for Polka Theatre/Little Angel Theatre, and The Lover in the premiere of Liebeslied/My Suicides (Paul Clark/Rut Blees Luxemberg), an ICA/Genesis co-production.

Natalie likes to bring a theatrical approach to the concert platform, and specialises in the most challenging of contemporary repertory. Most recently, she made her debut at the Wittener Tage für Neue Kammermusik 2011, performing the premiere of Aster Lieder (Stefano Gervasoni) with the French ensemble L'Instant Donné, broadcast on WDR3 in June. She has performed Pierrot Lunaire (Schoenberg) in many venues including the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam under Klaus Ager, Purcell Room, South Bank, and St. Magnus Festival, Orkney. Other concert credits include Symphony 14 (Shostakovich), Les Illuminations (Britten), Miss Brevis (Ferneyhough) for EXAUDI, Akhmatova Songs (Tavener), Sequenza (Berio), Cinis (Donatoni), Aventures et Nouvelles Aventures (Ligeti), as well as many first performances of works written for her.

Natalie enjoys a close working relationship with the composer Cheryl Frances-Hoad. The chamber work The Glory Tree was written for Natalie, and she has performed it in many venues including the Purcell Room and the St. Magnus Festival. The Glory Tree is also the title track of Frances-Hoad’s debut disc (Champs Hill Records), which was BBC Music Magazine's Chamber Music Choice for October 2011. Natalie is also currently collaborating with Cheryl, Stuart Murray and Little Angel Theatre in the creation of an opera about autism for Opera North, and will record the six word opera You Promised Me Everything Last Night for Frances-Hoad's second disc in 2012.

Future engagements include the role of Amy Johnson in Amy's Last Dive (Frances-Hoad), to premiere in June 2012 as part of the Yorkshire 2012 Cultural Olympiad.