Mezzo soprano Madeleine Shaw is a former member of the Young Singer's Programme at English National Opera and she continues to enjoy great success on the opera and concert stages. It was in the role of the Beggar Woman in Deborah Warner’s acclaimed production of Death in Venice that Madeleine made her debut at English National Opera, Madeleine went on to reprise this role at La Monnaie, Brussels; Dutch National Opera and La Scala, Milan.  

This season, Madeleine Shaw makes her debut at the Staatsoper Hamburg as Aksinya Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk; she returns to Welsh National Opera as Annina Der Rosenkavalier; English National Opera as Rita The Handmaid’s Tale and the Longborough Festival as Fricka Das Ring des Nibelungen. She will make her debut with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra as the Aufseherin in concert performances of Elektra conducted by Kirill Petrenko in Bergen and Stockholm.

In the 2022/23 Season, Madeleine returned to English National Opera as Fricka Das Rheingold directed by Richard Jones; to Glyndebourne for her role debut as Marcellina Le nozze di Figaro and to Welsh National Opera as the Old Lady in a new production of Candide. Madeleine returned to the BBC Proms in 2022 as the Sorceress Dido and Aeneas with La Nuova Musica, and she has recently appeared with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Hallé Orchestra and the London Philharmonic Orchestra. 

Recent operatic appearances include her debut at the Opéra national de Paris as Aufseherin Elektra conducted by Semyon Bychkov; she returned to ENO as Rita The Handmaid’s Tale and at Welsh National Opera she created title role of Elena Langer’s Rhondda Rips It Up! and appeared as Annina Der Rosenkavalier; elsewhere she has appeared as The Forrester’s Wife The Cunning Little Vixen and Roßweise Die Walküre for the Royal Opera and as Maddalena Rigoletto for Glyndebourne and ENO.

For ENO Madeleine has appeared as Magdalena in Richard Jones new production of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg; Annina Der Rosenkavalier; Zweite Dame Die Zauberflöte; Mercedes Carmen and Maddalena Rigoletto.

Madeleine has appeared at the BBC Proms as “She Ancient” A Midsummer Marriage with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Sir Andrew Davis and as a Blumenmädchen Parsifal for the Hallé and Sir Mark Elder; she made her debut at the Edinburgh International Festival as Siegrune Die Walküre with the RSNO and Sir Andrew Davis; Wellgunde Das Rheingold with the Hallé and Sir Mark Elder and she appeared as Emilia Otello with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and Gianandrea Noseda.   On the concert platform, Madeleine’s recent engagements include: Mahler’s Rückert Lieder with the Orchestra of Welsh National Opera; Messiah with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales; Glagolitic Mass with the London Philharmonic Orchestra; Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder with the RPO and Mahler’s 8th Symphony with the Orchestra of Opera North.   In 2018, Madeleine made her US debut as The Angel The Dream of Gerontius with the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra and Benjamin Zander, a piece she has performed with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Vasily Petrenko, for whom she has also performed Berlioz’s La mort de Cléopatre. Madeleine has had long relationship with the Hallé Orchestra and recent performances include the Glagolitic Mass; Messiah; Child of our Time; Beethoven’s 9th Symphony and the Verdi Requiem.  

Further concert engagements include appearances with the London Symphony Orchestra; Royal Scottish National Opera; BBC National Orchestra of Wales; London Philharmonic Orchestra; Northern Sinfonia and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. Among the conductors Madeleine has worked with are: Sir Simon Rattle; Sir Antonio Pappano; John Elliot Gardiner; Edward Gardner; Thomas Zehetmair; Richard Farnes and Thierry Fischer.   Madeleine has enjoyed much success with the baroque repertoire, and she has recorded Il pastor fido with La Nuova Musica and David Bates for Harmonia Mundi; further engagements include: Bradamante Alcina with La Nuova Musica and David Bates; Juno La Calisto and Medea Giasone with the Early Opera Company and Christian Curnyn; Handel’s Samson with the Irish Baroque Orchestra; Handel’s Messiah with the Sandefjord Kammerchor on tour throughout Norway and with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and the St Matthew Passion with the RTE National Orchestra.   

Biography not for publication, for an up to date version please contact Oliver Clarke.