Elizabeth Watts (born 1979) is an English operatic soprano. Watts was born in

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the Episcopal see, See of ...

and attended Norwich High School for Girls. She studied archaeology at

Sheffield University , mottoeng = To discover the causes of things , established = – University of SheffieldPredecessor institutions: – Sheffield Medical School – Firth College – Sheffield Technical School – University College of Sheffield , type = Pu ...

and graduated with first class honours. Beginning in 2002, she studied music at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...

with Lillian Watson. She graduated in 2005 with distinction and the Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Rose Bowl, awarded annually for outstanding achievement. From 2005 to 2007, she was a member of the Young Singers’ Programme at

English National Opera English National Opera (ENO) is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with The Royal Opera. ENO's productions are sung in Englis ...

. In the 10/11 season she was Pamina/''Die Zauberflöte'' for

Welsh National Opera Welsh National Opera (WNO) ( cy, Opera Cenedlaethol Cymru) is an opera company based in Cardiff, Wales; it gave its first performances in 1946. It began as a mainly amateur body and transformed into an all-professional ensemble by 1973. In its ...

and Marzelline/''Fidelio'' for the

Royal Opera House, Covent Garden The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Op ...

Life and career

In 2006, Watts won the

Kathleen Ferrier Award The Kathleen Ferrier Award is a prestigious contest for Opera singers held each April in London, England. The first competition was held in 1956. According to the '' Telegraph'', the competition has a record of "spotting winners". Originally c ...

. She represented England at the 2007

Cardiff Singer of the World Competition BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition (known as Cardiff Singer of the World from 1983–2001 and BBC Singer of the World in Cardiff in 2003) is a competition for classical singers held every two years. The competition was started by BBC W ...

, reaching the final and winning the prestigious Rosenblatt Song Prize Competition. She was chosen as a BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist from 2007-2009. In 2011 she won a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award. Her earliest US appearances were in Boston with the Handel and Haydn Society of Boston in 2006 and with Cal Performances in San Francisco. She made her debut at

Santa Fe Opera Santa Fe Opera (SFO) is an American opera company, located north of Santa Fe, New Mexico. After creating the ''Opera Association of New Mexico'' in 1956, its founding director, John Crosby, oversaw the building of the first opera house on a newl ...

in July 2008. Recently Watts sang Mozart Requiem with the Boston Handel & Haydn Society and

Harry Christophers Richard Henry Tudor "Harry" Christophers CBE FRSCM (born 26 December 1953) is an English conductor. Life and career Richard Henry Tudor Christophers was born in Goudhurst, Kent. He was a chorister at Canterbury Cathedral under choirmaster Allan ...

which will be released on CD. Watts’ other recordings include discs of Schubert Lieder and Bach Arias, both of which were chosen as Gramophone Magazine Editor's Choice. She has also released recordings of Thomas Arne's Artaxerxes, Handel's Messiah with the

Huddersfield Choral Society Huddersfield Choral Society is a choir based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1836, and is recognised as one of Britain's leading choirs. Over the years the choir has performed most of the major works in the choral rep ...

and Brahms Requiem with the

London Philharmonic Orchestra The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is one of five permanent symphony orchestras based in London. It was founded by the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the existing London Symphony and BBC Sym ...

. In January 2011, Watts was appointed as an Artist in Residence at London's

Southbank Centre Southbank Centre is a complex of artistic venues in London, England, on the South Bank of the River Thames (between Hungerford Bridge and Waterloo Bridge). It comprises three main performance venues (the Royal Festival Hall including the Nati ...

for the 2011-12 season. In 2016 she premiered the role of The Countess in

Elena Langer Elena Langer (born 1974 in Moscow) is a Russian-born British composer of opera and other contemporary classical music. Her work has been performed at the Royal Opera House, Zurich Opera, Carnegie Hall, Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performi ...

's opera '' Figaro Gets a Divorce'', at the

References

External links

Homepage

Artists page
from the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal ...

Maxine Robertson Management page on Elizabeth Watts

BBC webpage from the 2007 Cardiff Singer of the World
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watts, Elizabeth 1979 births Alumni of the University of Sheffield Alumni of the Royal College of Music Living people English operatic sopranos 21st-century British women opera singers BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artists