VICTORIA SIMMONDS studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where she was awarded the Countess of Munster Award, Sybill Tutton Award, and the Maggie Teyte Prize. In 1999 she sang an acclaimed Rosina for British Youth Opera, and Sesto/La Clemenza di Tito for Glyndebourne Touring Opera. In 2000 Victoria made her English National Opera debut as Nancy T’ang in Adam’s Nixon in China, conducted by Paul Daniel and directed by Peter Sellars. She went on to become a company principal there singing such roles as Cherubino/ Figaro, Mercedes/Carmen, Zaida/The Turk in Italy, Pitti-Sing/The Mikado, Ascanius/The Trojans, Rosina/The Barber of Seville, Dorabella/Così fan tutte, Hermia/A Midsummer Night's Dream and Zerlina/Don Giovanni. 

In 2005 Victoria sang the title role in Carmen in the Royal Albert Hall and in the spring of 2005 she made her debut at the Netherlands Opera singing Lucienne/Die Tote Stadt (Korngold). Festival engagements include the title role in La Perichole and Ines/Maria Padilla, both for Buxton Festival, Isolier/Le Comte Ory for Garsington, and Olga/Eugene Onegin for Opera Holland Park. In 2006/7 she sang Wellgunde/Das Rheingold for Aix en Provence/Salzburg with Sir Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic, Meg Page/Falstaff for Grange Park, and Varvara/Katya Kabanova on Chandos’ critically acclaimed recording.

Concert engagements have included the Philharmonia in the Royal Festival Hall, Janacek Diary of one who disappeared for the Hallé, Ascanius/Les Troyens with the London Symphony Orchestra and Sir Colin Davis at the 2003 BBC Proms, and a recital at the 2004 Buxton Festival. In 2005 she returned to the Proms and made her Concertgebouw debut in Le Comte Ory. She made her Salzburg Festival debut in 2006 and her Edinburgh Festival debut in 2007. She returned to the Concertgebouw in 2007 to perform the title role in L’Enfant et le Sortileges. Other concert work includes Henze’s Voices with the London Sinfonietta in Krakov, Marguerita in a concert performance of La Damnation de Faust in Canterbury Cathedral, B Minor Mass at St John’s Smith Square, The Dream of Gerontius, also at Canterbury, and Idamante in a concert performance of Strauss' arrangement of Idomeneo for Buxton Festival.  She recently performed Beethoven's Missa Solemnis at Snape Maltings Concert Hall, St Alban's Cathedral and Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford, and Mozart's Mass in C Minor at Worcester Cathedral.  In January 2012 she will be singing La Damoiselle Elue by Debussy under the baton of Sir Mark Elder for Cambridge University Music Society. 

Victoria created the title role in Jonathan Dove’s The Adventures of Pinocchio and Dorabella in Tim Albery's production of Cosi fan Tutte both for Opera North. She recently played Zaida in Martin Duncan's critically acclaimed production of Il Turco in Italia for Garsington Opera.  In July 2011 she sang Nessa in the world premiere of Julian Grant's community opera, "Prophet and Loss" for Oundle International Festival, and in August, her first Charlotte in Massenet's Werther at Les Azuriales Opera.  In 2012/13 she will be taking part in the world premiere of "Written on Skin" by George Benjamin at the Aix Festival in 2012, with subsequent performances at the Netherlands Opera, Opera Comique Paris, The Royal Opera House Covent Garden, the Wiener Festwochen, the Bavarian State Opera Munich and Toulouse.