Claron McFadden studied voice at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. Her celebrated opera roles are numerous and varied, including the title role of Lulu conducted by Sir Andrew Davis and The controller in Jonathan Dove's Flight, both performed at Glyndebourne; Zerbinetta in Graham Vick's production of Ariadne auf Naxos at the Netherlands Opera, where she has also performed many times; and numerous projects she has toured throughout Europe, including Dido and Aeneas and Les Indes Galantes, which she also performed at the Aix-en-Provence Festival.
She sings many of the major oratorio works, but is also in demand for her interpretation of modern and contemporary music, in particular the music of Wolfgang Rihm and Harrison Birtwistle. She performed in the world premier of Birtwistle's The Woman and the Hare at Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall and in August 2009 at the BBC Proms with the Nash Ensemble.
Her many recordings include Birtwistle's Paul Celan Songs, Haydn's Orfeo and Gluck's Paride ed Elena with La Stagione Frankfurt and as Aspasia in Händel's Alexander Balus with the King's Consort for Hyperion Records.
She has also made many television appearances, including Channel 4's My Night with Händel, performance documentary of contemporary settings of Händel operatic arias, available on video and DVD.
In August 2007 Claron McFadden was awarded with the Amsterdam Prize of the Arts, winning praise for her brilliant coloratura, her wide repertoire ranging from Monteverdi to Bernstein and contemporary composers, and her vivid stage personality.