Soprano Lauren Armishaw was born in New Zealand, where she completed a Science Degree in Mathematics and Music Degree in Composition and Singing at Victoria University in Wellington.
Moving to Europe in 2001, Lauren spent one year working and studying in Italy, before moving to The Netherlands to study at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague. Here she studied with Rita Dams, Jill Feldman and Michael Chance, gaining a Bachelor in Classical Singing and a Master’s in Early Music, specializing in Roman Opera and Oratorio in the late 17th Century.
Her dream to combine research and performance was realized in June 2007 with the performance of a Staged Oratorio “Il Martirio di S. Eustachio†by F.C Lanciani (Rome, 1690). Having made a modern edition of the work, Lauren performed the role of Teopiste in the first performance of the work in over 300 years.
Recent opera roles include Laodice in Handel’s Siroe (Contrasto Armonico dir. Marco Vitale) and Venere in Cavalli’s Ercole Amante (Festival d’Ambronay, dir. Gabriel Garrido).
As a soloist and ensemble member Lauren performs, tours and records with groups such as The Netherlands Bach Society dir. Jos van Veldhoven (Channel Classics), L’Arpeggiata dir. Christina Pluhar (Alpha, Naive) & Orpheus Vokalensemble dir. Gary Graden (Carus-Verlag). She is a founding member of several new baroque ensembles: Tasman Players (NZ/Netherlands), La Battuta (Germany) and Lacrime Amorose (Netherlands).
In former years she sang in the NZ Youth Choir, World Youth Choir and World Chamber Choir.