Felicity Lott

Felicity Lott
Name	Felicity Lott
Birth date	1947-02-08
Birth place	Cheltenham, Gloucestershire
Occupation	Soprano
Years active	1969–present

Felicity Lott is an English soprano celebrated for her interpretations of French opera, English song, and German Lieder. She achieved international recognition through performances at major houses and festivals, recordings with leading conductors, and a repertoire spanning Mozart, Richard Strauss, Hector Berlioz, and Benjamin Britten. Her career encompasses opera, recital, concert, pedagogy, and honors from cultural institutions.

Early life and education

Born in Cheltenham and raised in Glastonbury and Somerset, Lott trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and studied with teachers associated with the Royal College of Music and the Royal Academy of Music. Early influences included studies with vocal coaches linked to the traditions of Manon Lescaut interpreters and guidance from musicians connected to the Royal Opera House, the London Symphony Orchestra, and the BBC Symphony Orchestra. She gained stage experience in student productions of works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Georges Bizet, and Gaetano Donizetti and participated in competitions related to the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World and other European festivals.

Operatic career

Lott made professional debuts in the late 1960s and 1970s at companies such as the English National Opera, the Glyndebourne Festival Opera, and the Royal Opera House. Her operatic roles included heroines from the oeuvres of Mozart (e.g., roles in Così fan tutte and Le nozze di Figaro), Richard Strauss (notably parts from Der Rosenkavalier and Ariadne auf Naxos), and Hector Berlioz (interpretations of Les Troyens and La damnation de Faust). She collaborated with conductors from the Vienna Philharmonic, the Berlin Philharmonic, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and sang under directors with credits at the Metropolitan Opera, Teatro alla Scala, and the Opéra National de Paris. Appearances at festivals such as Edinburgh Festival, Aix-en-Provence Festival, and Salzburg Festival further established her reputation, alongside partnerships with singers from the ranks of Plácido Domingo, José Carreras, and Kiri Te Kanawa.

Concert and recital repertoire

Lott's concert work encompassed oratorios and symphonic song cycles by composers including Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann, Hugo Wolf, Claude Debussy, and Maurice Ravel. She became particularly associated with French mélodie and English art song repertoire, performing cycles by Francis Poulenc, Gabriel Fauré, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Benjamin Britten, and John Ireland. Her recital programs often paired works by Franz Liszt, Gustav Mahler, and Antonín Dvořák with pieces by Hector Berlioz and Camille Saint-Saëns, and she worked regularly with pianists linked to the traditions of Gerald Moore, Christophe Rousset, and Ronald Stevenson. She also contributed to performances of concertante works by George Frideric Handel, Antonio Vivaldi, and Edward Elgar.

Recordings and honours

Lott's discography includes recordings of song cycles and operatic excerpts for labels associated with the Deutsche Grammophon, EMI Classics, and the BBC Records. Her interpretations of Mélodies françaises and English song earned awards from institutions like the Gramophone Awards and recognition at ceremonies linked to the Royal Philharmonic Society and national arts ministries in France and the United Kingdom. She received honors such as royal decorations and orders tied to cultural service, invitations to serve on juries for competitions including the International Tchaikovsky Competition and the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World, and lifetime achievement acknowledgements from music academies and conservatoires across Europe.

Teaching and masterclasses

Lott has given masterclasses at conservatoires such as the Royal College of Music, the Royal Academy of Music, and international schools including the Juilliard School, the Conservatoire de Paris, and the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München. She held visiting professorships and led workshops at festivals like Aix-en-Provence Festival, Oxford Lieder Festival, and the Aix-en-Provence Festival and served on juries for competitions tied to the Wigmore Hall and the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World. Her pedagogical work emphasized repertoire by Wolf, Schubert, Britten, Fauré, and Debussy, influencing students who joined ensembles such as the English National Opera and the Royal Opera House.

Personal life and legacy

Lott's personal connections include collaborations with musicians and cultural figures associated with the BBC, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and international festivals in Vienna, Paris, and New York City. Her legacy is preserved through recordings, broadcast archives at the BBC Proms and national radio stations, and continued influence on sopranos in the lineages of Kiri Te Kanawa, Joan Sutherland, and Margaret Price. Institutions such as the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the Royal College of Music maintain materials relating to her career, and retrospectives at venues like the Wigmore Hall and the Royal Opera House celebrate her contributions to French mélodie, English song, and the operatic canon.

Category:English sopranos Category:1947 births Category:Living people