Elizabeth Watts
With a voice described by International Record Review as “one of the most beautiful Britain has produced in a generation”, Elizabeth Watts is “now established as one of Britain’s leading sopranos” (The Guardian) and “a national treasure” (The Arts Desk). Her debut recording of Schubert Lieder for SONY Red Seal, a Gramophone Editor’s Choice, was praised for its “milky timbre & interpretative maturity” (FT) and “technical mastery” (Gramophone). A prolific recording artist, her discography includes Bach Cantatas, Strauss Lieder, Mozart Opera Arias, JS Bach’s St John and St Matthew Passions and Mahler Symphony No. 4. Most recently, her recording of Britten’s Spring Symphony with Sir Simon Rattle and the London Symphony Orchestra was named Orchestral Album of the Year by Classica magazine. A former BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist, Elizabeth is much in demand as a recitalist and has appeared at major venues including Wigmore Hall, the Concertgebouw Amsterdam and the Edinburgh Festival, as well as internationally in Paris, Madrid and Zürich.
On the concert platform she sings a broad repertoire from Bach to Brahms, Mahler and Strauss, and has appeared with orchestras including the London Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra and Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, working with conductors such as Sir Simon Rattle, Sakari Oramo and Yannick Nézet-Séguin. Highlights include performances at the BBC Proms, Mahler Symphonies Nos. 2 and 4, Bach Passions, and Handel L’Allegro with the Mark Morris Dance Group. Her world premiere performance of Richard Blackford’s Songs of Nadia Anjuman, which she also conducted, received multiple five-star reviews and was named a Concert of the Year by The Times.
Now firmly established as a lyric soprano, recent operatic roles include Aspasia (Mitridate, Garsington Opera) and the Countess (Le nozze di Figaro, English National Opera). Elizabeth was a chorister at Norwich Cathedral and studied at Sheffield University and the Royal College of Music. Her awards include the Kathleen Ferrier Award, BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Rosenblatt Song Prize, and a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award. She is an Honorary Doctor of Music of Sheffield University and a Fellow of the Royal College of Music.
