Samantha Houston
Mezzo-Soprano
English Language Coach
Opera - Oratorio - Song
On Treemonisha, www.broadwayworld.com 2019
There's so much to admire: […]; Samantha Houston's showstopper of an aria "The Sacred Tree";[…]
[…]; praise must also go to Samantha Houston for a mellow rendering of her own songs as Treemonisha's mother.
On Treemonisha, www.thejc.com 2019
On Treemonisha, The Guardian 2019
As her parents, Rodney Earl Clarke and
Samantha Houston were dramatically effective.
Samantha Houston conveyed Jill's solitary state
in the community through her expressive singing
Opera Magazine, May 2012
The characterisation is meticulously detailed, up to and including […] Samantha Houston's anxious Handmaiden.
On L'Amore dei tre Re, Independent on Sunday 2007
Samantha completed her post-graduate studies at
the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London,
supported by The Madeline Finden Memorial Trust and
The Sir Richard Stapley Educational Trust.
Samantha has performed for the choruses of:
Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie (Belgium), Welsh National Opera,
English National Opera, and Opera Holland Park. She was a
member of the Opera North chorus in its 2010-2011 and
2007-2008 seasons.
Samantha has also sung roles for Grimeborn Festival,
The Festival of London (ROH2 project), Opera South, HERA,
In concert, Samantha has performed for the City of London Festival, the LSO St. Luke's Discovery Series and 'Voiceworks' new compositions at Wigmore Hall. She has also performed as
the Alto Soloist in Oratorio works.
Most recently, Samantha has worked as an English Language Coach
at Ooppera Baletti (Finnish National Opera), working with soloists
and the chorus on: Innocence (Saariaho); Billy Budd (Britten);
Phantom of the Opera & Love Never Dies (Webber); and
Karita Mattila's Koko Karita!
Along with being the voice of the Helsinki Biennaal 2023 podcast, Samantha has now staged her first play entitled Destination: 'Old Hag'. You can find details of where to see the play here!
Opera
Roles
Woman 4 - The Trojan Women (Taylor-Ellis)
New Opera Workshop & Reading - London (Aug 2019)
Monisha - Treemonshia (Joplin)
Grimeborn Festival - London (Aug 2019)
Beggar (semi-chorus) - Moses and Aron (Schoenberg)
Welsh National Opera - Cardiff and on tour, including ROH
Piggywig / 2nd Maid - The Owl and The Pussycat
ROH2 for the Mayor of London Festival
Jill-All-Alone - Merrie England
Opera South
Clo-Clo - The Merry Widow
Opera North, Leeds and on tour
Handmaiden - L'Amore dei Tre Re
Opera Holland Park, London
Chorus
Porgy & Bess (Gerswhin)
De Nationale Opera, Netherlands (Jan 2019)
English National Opera (Oct - Nov 2018)
War Requiem (Britten)
English National Opera (Nov - Dec 2018)
La Forza del Destino (Verdi)
Welsh National Opera (2018)
Aida (Verdi) - Il Prigioniero (Dallapiccola)
- Missa di Gloria (Puccini) - Daphins et Chloe (Ravel)
Theatre Royal de la Monnaie, Belgium (2017)
Peter Grimes (Britten) - Force of Destiny (Verdi)
- Queen of Spades (Tchaikovsky)
English National Opera (2014 - 2015)
Lohengrin (Wagner) - Moses und Aron (Schoenberg) - Nabucco (Verdi)
Welsh National Opera (2013 - 2014)
Carmen (Bizet)
Raymond Gubby Ltd, Royal Albert Hall (2013)
The Damnation of Faust (Berlioz) - Simon Boccenegra (Verdi) - Marriage of Figaro (Mozart) - Eugene Onegin (Tchaikovsky) - The Flying Dutchman (Wagner)
English National Opera (2011 - 2012)
Opera North Chorus
2010 / 11 season
Boris Gudunov (Mussorgsky) - Peter Grimes (Britten) -
Turandot (Puccini)
English National Opera (2008 - 2009)
Opera North Chorus
2007 / 08 season
Oratorio (Alto Soloist)
Requiem (Mozart)
Chichester Psalms (Bernstein)
Dettingen Te Deum (Handel)
Mass A flat Major (Schubert)
Music Makers (Elgar)
Elijah (Mendelssohn)
Messiah (Handel)
Requiem (Dvořák)
Nelson Mass (Haydn)
Laud to the Nativity (Resphigi)
Song
Red Cockatoo and Other Songs (Britten)
Cinq poèmes de Baudelaire (Debussy)
Chansons de Bilitis (Debussy)
Various songs (Hahn)
Sea Pictures (Elgar)
"Voiceworks' - concert of new compositions
performed at venues such as:
Conway Hall (London), Bristol Cathedral,
Wigmore Hall (London) &
Canterbury Cathedral
Recent Coaching
Innocence (Saariaho)
Ooppera Baletti - Finland (Performances Oct - Nov 2022)
Koko Karita! (An Evening with Karita Mattila)
Ooppera Baletti - Finland (Performances May - Jun 2022)
Billy Budd (Britten)
Ooppera Baletti - Finland (Performances Mar - Apr 2022)
Phantom Of The Opera / Love Never Dies (Webber)
Ooppera Baletti - Finland (Performances Oct - Dec 2021)
As both an experienced performer and a qualified CELTA teacher (English Language Teaching),
I believe a true understanding of an English text - and the way we physically produce it -
has the power to optimise a performance.
To help non-native and native English speakers feel confident when performing, I focus on
the clarity of the individual words in a text, looking at a performer's mouth shape, tongue placement and lip position, and the coherence of a text as a whole:
CLARITY
- Strong English consonants (plosives, the difference between 'voiced' & 'unvoiced' sounds);
- Clear English vowel sounds + vowel lengths (short v. long);
- Necessary / unnecessary vowel and consonant sounds in a word;
- Correct syllable stress in a word (strong v. weak beats).
COHERENCE
- The whole text is analysed and understood beyond a first translation;
- The context of each role within a piece is established (such as: era, accent, and status);
- The rhythm of a sentence is analysed, so that the performer finds the best way to convey the right emotion.