American soprano Claire Swale received a Master of Performance in Vocal Performance degree from the Royal College of Music in London in 2018, where she was generously supported by the Audrey Sacher Award. She received her Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana, as a recipient of the Geraldine B. Cooke Opera Scholarship, the Smith T.J. Music Scholarship, and the Frauenhoffer Memorial Award in music.

 

During her time at the Royal College, Claire was Highly Commended for her performance in the RCM Lieder Competition and appeared in such roles as Susanna (RCM Opera Scenes, directed by James Hurley), Elisa (RCM Opera Scenes, directed by Nina Brazier), Nannetta (RCM Opera Scenes, directed by Garth Bardsley) and Betly (RCM Opera Scenes, directed by Stuart Barker).

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Further credits include Lucia in The Rape of Lucretia for the Grimeborn Festival at the Arcola Theatre in London, directed by Julia Burbach, which was recognized at the 2019 Offies Awards as the Best Off-West End Opera Production of 2018. More recently, Claire made her debut at the Mainfranken Theater Würzburg as Papagena in a new production of Die Zauberflöte directed by Andreas Widermann, and reprised the role at the Schlossfestspiele Regensburg 2023. Claire is a 2018 Britten Pears Young Artist and has appeared on stage and in several competitions across the United States, Great Britain and Europe.

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Claire currently lives in Würzburg, Germany with her husband, conductor and pianist David Todd, with whom she often performs song recitals. You can view a concert preview here and please get in touch through the contact form for performance inquiries.