Ana Beard Fernández

Ana Beard Fernández is a British-Spanish soprano whose “clear, expressive tone” and stylistic versatility have made her a distinctive presence in the field of early music. A graduate of the Royal College of Music (Master of Performance, Distinction) and the University of York, she began her musical training as a chorister at Manchester Cathedral and Chetham’s School of Music.

Ana has appeared with leading period ensembles including I Fagiolini, Florilegium, Dunedin Consort, La Nuova Musica, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, the Academy of Ancient Music under Laurence Cummings, and the Haydn Festival Orchestra with Steven Devine, performing at venues such as Wigmore Hall, Salisbury Cathedral, Kings Place, and York Minster. Her interpretation of Handel’s Silete venti was praised for its “radiant lyricism and agility,” and her ongoing collaborations with chamber ensembles have established her as a compelling interpreter of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century repertoire. She is also the founder and director of La Locura, an ensemble dedicated to reimagining early music through cross-cultural collaboration.

Alongside her early-music work, Ana maintains an active interest in contemporary repertoire, performing music by Ondřej Adámek, Unsuk Chin, Judith Weir, and Jonathan Dove. Earlier this year, she appeared on the SOMM Recordings release Habanera with Roderick Williams OBE and eight cellos, featuring specially arranged works by de Falla, Ravel, and Villa-Lobos.