Iria Perestrelo

Iria Perestrelo started her musical studies in her native Portugal and moved to London to study at the prestigious Guildhall School of Music & Drama. Under Professors Penny Mackay and Susan Waters, she gained a Bachelor with Honours in Vocal Studies and an Artist Masters Diploma in Performance, as a scholar of several institutions.

Having obtained the highest grade of her first year of studies, she was nominated to represent the Guildhall School at the Kathleen Ferrier Bursary Competition for young singers, and in the following year won the Audience Prize at Concurso de Canto Lírico da Fundação Rotária Portuguesa in Lisbon and the 2nd prize at Concurso de Canto José Augusto Alegria EboraeMusica. She has also received the award Prémio Jovens Criadores Clube Português de Artes e Ideias & Instituto Português da Juventude for the performance of Francisco Coll’s Óxido Op. 9, a new piece composed for Iria’s voice and chamber ensemble, as part of the Voiceworks project, which premièred at the Wigmore Hall.

As a soloist with the Guildhall Baroque Orchestra and with her own ensemble Prince and Pauper Consort, Iria performed at the London Handel Festival, St. Martin-in-the-fields, Brighton Early Music Festival, National Portrait Gallery, Hatchlands Museum, and other iconic venues. During her time at Guildhall School she has received specialist coaching from Dame Emma Kirkby and other artists from the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Gabrieli Consort, La Serenissima and Academy of Ancient Music. Her concert performances include Handel Messiah, Vivaldi Gloria, Pergolesi Stabat Mater, Mozart Exsultate Jubilate, Coronation Mass, Missa Brevis in G, Haydn Kleine Orgelmesse, Schubert Mass n.2 in G, Fauré Messe Basse, Bach Ich habe genug.

Opera credits include Susanna Le Nozze di Figaro at Zêzere Arts Festival in Portugal, Adele Fledermaus (excerpts) at Teatr Wielki Opera Narodowa; Gingerbread Woman Village Romeo & Juliet at Wexford Festival Opera; Moth Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Barbican Theatre; Cis Albert Herring at the Silk Street Theatre; Serpina La Serva Padrona, Despina Così fan tutte at Zêzere Arts Festival; Zerlina D. Giovanni at Humanitas Opera; Sister Genovieffa Suor Angelica (NLOP); Gazela Os Zoocratas (Teatro Rivoli and TNSC Portugal); 1st maid staged production of Bach St. Mathew Passion at National Theatre London.

Iria had the privilege to work with opera directors such as Sir Jonathan Miller, Andrejz Zagars, Antony McDonald, Martin Lloyd-Evans, Patrick Mason, Jo Davies, Stephen Medcalf, Rosetta Cucchi, Roberto Recchia, Rodula Gaitanou, Jean-Pierre van der Spuy, Christopher Cowell and conductors such as Stephen Barlow, Gianluca Marcianò, David Angus, Paul Goodwin, Richard Egarr, Pavlo Beznosiuk, Kaspars Putnins, David Charles Abell, William Lacey, Rory Macdonald, Brian Mackay.

Iria sings regularly at Grange Park Opera chorus appearing in Eugene Onegin, I Puritani, Don Carlo, Fiddler on the roof (featuring Bryn Terfel), Oliver! (featuring Simon Keenlyside), Tosca (featuring Joseph Calleja), Jenufa, Roméo et Juliette and Un Ballo in maschera.

As a member of the Philharmonia Chorus, sang the great choral works in such stages as Royal Festival Hall, Royal Albert Hall, Kings College Cambridge, Sheldonian Oxford, Palau de la Música Valencia and recently at the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, under the baton of Sir Jeffrey Tate, Andris Nelsons, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Daniel Harding, between others. With the Choir of the Enlightenment performed in several BBC Prom concerts under Marin Alsop and Sir Simon Rattle.

Iria is a scholar of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation – European Network of Opera Academies, having had the opportunity to work with Anita Garanča (Latvian National Opera), Andrejs Zagars (Director Latvian National Opera), Dmitry Vdovin (Artistic Director Bolshoi Theatre), Eytan Pessen (Semperoper Dresden), Izabela Klosinska (Teatr Wielki Opera Narodowa), and with Claudio Desderi at Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.

She has attended other masterclasses with Chen Reiss, Edith Wiens, Sarah Walker and Eugene Asti. Iria studies with renowned soprano Yvonne Kenny.