With a repertoire spanning three centuries, Nancy Argenta has been hailed not only as the supreme Handel soprano of our age but also for her performances of works by such diverse composers as Mahler, Mozart, Schubert and Schoenberg. Conductors with whom she has collaborated include Ozawa, Gardiner, Davis, Blomstedt, Pinnock, Hogwood and Norrington. She has sung with the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Boston Symphony, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the Leipzig Gewandhaus, and the Toronto, Montreal, and Sydney Symphony Orchestras.
In opera, concert and recital, she has appeared at many leading festivals including Aix-en-Provence, Salzburg, Mostly Mozart, and the BBC Proms. Her discography of over 50 recordings includes Bach’s St. John’s Passion, Mass in B Minor, Magnificat and Christmas Oratorio (Gardiner), Purcell’s King Arthur (Pinnock), and Mozart’s Requiem, Magic Flute, and Don Giovanni (Norrington). A an EMI/Virgin Solo Artist she has recorded Schubert Lieder, Scarlatti Cantatas, two discs of Bach Solo Cantatas as well as two of Purcell songs, the first of which O Solitude, was honoured with a Classic CD award. As a devotee of the song repertoire of all periods, Ms. Argenta tours widely as a recitalist, presenting songs with original keyboard accompaniment of harpsichord, fortepiano, or modern piano. As well as teaching privately since 1986, Nancy was on the faculty of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (London) from 1994-2003, and has given classes in Germany, Japan, Israel, England, Spain and Canada. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree (Performance) from the University of Western Ontario and has trained in advanced pedagogy with Dr. Meribeth Bunch. She is Co-artistic director of Nelson Courses for Singers. As a teacher her priorities are a free and natural sounding technique and a straightforward and heartfelt delivery of music and text.