Nancy Argenta

Nancy Maureen Argenta Born Nancy Maureen Herbison On January 17 1957 Is A Canadian Soprano Singer Best Known For Performing Music From The Pre-Classical Era. She Has Won International Acclaim And Is Considered By Many As The Leading Handel Soprano Of Her Time. She Was Born In Nelson British Columbia Canada. She Spent Her Early Years In The Settlement Of Argenta From Which She Later Took Her Professional Name To Avoid Being Mistaken For Another Canadian Soprano Nancy Hermiston. Education At The Age Of 11 She Started Formal Voice Lessons With Dr. Amy Ferguson Of Nelson And Sang With One Of The School Choirs At L.V. Rogers High School In Nelson. By That Time She Was Frequently Making Trips To Vancouver British Columbia So She Could Hear Musical Events And Have Additional Singing Lessons. After Graduation From High School In 1975 She Was A Student Of Jacob Hann In Vancouver And Of Martin Chambers At The University Of Western Ontario Graduating In 1980. The Same Year She Won 1st Prize In The Sophie Carmen Eckhardt-Gramatté Competition. After Further Training With Jacqueline Richard In Düsseldorf From 1980 To 1981 And With Gérard Souzay In 1982 She Settled In London England And Completed Her Studies With Vera Rozsa And Sir Peter Pears. Career Her Professional Operatic Debut Was In Two Roles In Rameau's Hippolyte Et Aricie At The 1983 Aix-En-Provence Festival. In 1990 She Received The Virginia P. Moore Prize An Annual Award From The Canada Council For Development Of The Career Of A Young Canadian Classical Musician. She Is In High Demand To Perform With Period Instrument Ensembles. These Have Included The Academy Of Ancient Music And The English Concert La Petite Bande And Such Prominent Conductors As Trevor Pinnock Christopher Hogwood John Eliot Gardiner Roger Norrington And Sigiswald Kuijken. She Is Particularly Noted For Her Performances Of The Vocal Music Of The Two Leading Figures In English Music During The Baroque Era George Frideric Handel And Henry Purcell. When She Returned To The Aix-En-Provence Festival In 1990 It Was To Sing In The Latter's The Fairy Queen. She Has Performed Most Of The Major Handel Operas And Oratorios. She Also Sings All The Large-Scale Bach Choral/vocal Works B Minor Mass The Passions The Christmas Oratorio And Several Of The Cantatas . In The Classical Era She Is Noted For Performances Of Haydn Masses Some Of Which She Has Recorded With Pinnock And Richard Hickox Haydn's Creation The Role Of Zerlina In Don Giovanni And Despina In Così Fan Tutte. However She Sings Music Of All Eras. She Has Recorded Schubert For The Virgin Classics Label And Has Sung In Performances Of Music By Mahler And Schoenberg. She Has Recently Moved Back To Canada After Having England As Her Home For Most Of Her Career. read less