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Simon Wallfisch (* 1982 in London, England) is a British classical singer and cellist.

Simon Wallfisch was born into a familiy of professional musicians: his father is acclaimed British cellist Raphael Wallfisch, his mother the Australian born baroque violinist Elizabeth Wallfisch. His grandparents are cellist Anita Lasker-Wallfisch and pianist Peter Wallfisch, his greatgrandfather was Albert Coates, music director of St. Petersburg's Mariinsky Theatre during the time of the Russian revolution. His older brother is composer Benjamin Wallfisch (soundtracks for e.g. It, Blade Runner 2049, Dunkirk), his younger sister is singer-songwriter Joanna Wallfisch.

Between 2000 and 2006, Simon Wallfisch studied at the London Royal College of Music singing, violoncello and conducting. Passionate about German Lieder, he continued his studies at Berlin's Hochschule für Musik "Hanns Eisler" 2006/07 and until 2009 at University of Music and Theatre Leipzig. During that period he had his first solo appearances on stage at Opernhaus Leipzig, Theater Magdeburg, and theatres in Dessau, Altenburg and Gera.

Between 2009 and 2011 Wallfisch was a member of Zurich’s International Opera Studio at Opernhaus Zürich, having sung several solo roles. As a freelance singer he joined De Nationale Reisopera in Enschede in 2013 to sing Escamillo in La Tragédie de Carmen, 2015 he sang Albert in Jules Massenet’s „Werther" at English Touring Opera ^[1] , 2016 as Marcello in Puccini’s La Bohème in Teatro Verdi in Pisa, and recently as Fieramosca in Hector Berlioz’ Benvenuto Cellini at Staatstheater Nürnberg ^[2] .

As a solo performer he sang Weihnachtsoratorium by Johann Sebastian Bach at Brighton Early Music Festival ^[3] .

The BBC invited Wallfisch to perform as cellist in their commemoration event to mark Holocaust Memorial Day 2015.^[4] . Further recordings and live broadcasts were aired on German public radions NDR and Bayerischer Rundfunk, Swiss Radio SRF and France Musique.

In 2014, British label Lyrita Records published Simon Wallfisch’s recording „Lieder von Geoffrey Bush"^[5] ; in 2015 Nimbus Records published „French Songs: from la belle époque to les années folles" (with pieces by André Caplet, Arthur Honegger, Darius Milhaud and Maurice Ravel)^[6] , both accompagnied by Wallfisch’s musical partner, pianist Edward Rushton.

John France’s CD review at Musicweb International praises Wallfisch as „an ideal artist for English song recitals.[...] This is an excellent exploration of Geoffrey Bush’s songs [...], a hugely worthy contribution to this reappraisal and deserves every success.^[7] .

Tim Ashley of Gramophone reviewed the „French Songs": Yet there’s also no doubting the quality of his artistry. [...] Wallfisch has a consistently fine way with words, and Honegger’s Apollinaire settings reveal a deep, instinctive feel for French poetry. Caplet’s 1919 La Fontaine Fables bring out the singing-actor in him, meanwhile, his ceaseless shifts in tone creating characterisations of quite exceptional vividness. ^[8]

Not only passionate about music, Simon Wallfisch is also a dedicated activist againt antisemitism. He gives talks and tells his family’s history in schools, and accompagnies his grandmother Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, who is a frequent guest in talkshows and interviews^{[9] [10]} .

Wallfisch is a trustee of the ’’International Centre for Suppressed Music (ICSM)’’, which is dedicated to the developing and promoting the research, recording, and performance of works by classical composers who were stopped from working, forced into exile or killed by the Nazis.^[11] Wallfisch ist married to baroque musician Kathleen Ross, member of successful group Mediæval Bæbes. They live in London and have a daughter.

• Official Website

Category:Baritone Category:Cellist Category:British Category:Born 1982 Category:Male