Argenta (real name, Herbison), Nancy
Argenta (real name, Herbison), Nancy
Argenta (real name, Herbison), Nancy, Canadian soprano; b. Nelson, British Columbia, Jan. 17, 1957. She spent her early years in the settlement of Argenta, from which she later took her professional name. She was a student of Jacob Hamm in Vancouver and of Martin Chambers at the Univ. of Western Ontario. In 1980 she won 1st prize in the S. C. Eckhardt–Gramatté Competition. After further training with Jacqueline Richard in Dusseldorf (1980–81), she settled in London and completed her studies with Vera Rosza. In 1983 she attracted critical attention as La Chasseuresse in Rameau’s Hippolyte et Aricie at the Aix–en–Provence Festival. As a gifted exponent of the early music repertoire, she was engaged by many of the leading early music groups and by the principal music festivals; in 1989 she appeared as soloist with the English Concert in N.Y. and also made her Wigmore Hall recital debut in London. In 1990 she sang Rossane in the North American premiere of Handel’s Fiondante in Toronto. She made her debut at the Salzburg Festival as duck’s Euridice in 1996. Among her other esteemed roles are Monteverdi’s Poppea and Orfeo, Purcell’s Dido and King Arthur, Handel’s Astreia, and Mozart’s Barbarina and Susanna. Her concert repertoire is expansive, ranging from the Baroque era to contemporary scores.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire