Praised for her crystal-clear voice, British soprano Sarah Gilford is a recent Song Prize finalist at BBC Cardiff Singer of the World 2021 and an alumnus of the prestigious Opernstudio at the Bayerische Staatsoper. In the 2021/2022 season, she was a member of the ensemble at the Stadttheater Klagenfurt.
Sarah Gilford opens the 2025/26 season as Nerea in a new production of Handel’s Deidamia at the Wexford Festival Opera. The production will later be revived at the International Handel Festival in Göttingen, followed by a new staging of Johann Christian Bach’s Zanaida with the Kammerakademie Potsdam. Further season highlights include her performance as soloist in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony at the Royal Albert Hall and a recital at London’s renowned Wigmore Hall.
Winner of the 2024 “Bolko von Hochberg Song Competition”
Recent highlights
In the past seasons, Sarah Gilford could be heard as Woglinde in Wagner’s Götterdämmerung at the Theater in Klagenfurt as well as in Handel’s Messiah, also at the Theater Klagenfurt. She also made her role debut as the Governess in Isabelle Kettle’s new production of Britten’s The Turn of the Screw at Theatre Royal in Bath and her company debut with Bergen National Opera as Juliette in Die tote Stadt. She sang Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with the Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini in Parma, Gustav Mahler´s 2nd Symphony at Munich´s Herkulessaal and also made her debut at the Hamburg State Opera as First Niece in Peter Grimes and appeared as Dalinda in Handel’s Ariodante with Les Arts Florissants under the baton of William Christie at the Grand Théâtre de Genève.
Elias, Werther, Rigoletto
Further highlights of previous seasons include Mendelssohn’s Elijah with the Berlin Philharmonic and her debut as Sophie in Werther at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden under the baton of Sir Antonio Pappano. She also made her debut at Wigmore Hall in London with pianist Ewa Danilewska. At the Stadttheater Klagenfurt, she sang Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro, Soprano I in Rihm’s Jakob Lenz, and Gilda in Rigoletto. In addition, she could be heard in recitals in Madrid, Rome, and London as part of the Imogen Cooper Musical Trust. At the Bavarian State Opera, Sarah Gilford performed roles including the title role in Thomas’s Mignon at the Cuvilliés Theatre, as Giannetta in L’Elisir d’Amore, as Taumännchen in Hansel und Gretel, and as Barbarina in Le nozze di Figaro.
