Strathaven Choral Society
Spring 2005 - Stabat Mater - Antonín Dvořák
Voices for Hospices 2000 - The Messiah - G.F. Handel
Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Frances is a graduate of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. She joined the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, where she performed several roles and with whom she recorded Patience, Orpheus in the Underworld and HMS Pinafore. She has sung with the New Israeli Opera, Stuttgart Statsoper, Opera Theatre Company, Ireland, Glyndebourne Touring Opera, English National Opera, Nationale Reisopera and, in addition to the Edinburgh International Festival, at festivals in Ireland and Switzerland. She has been a regular guest artist at Opera North and the Royal Opera, Covent Garden, where she created the role of Yeta Zimmerman in the world premiere of Nicholas Maw's opera Sophie's Choice, conducted by Simon Rattle, directed by Trevor Nunn and broadcast live on both BBC television and radio. Last year, she made her debut with La Fenice, Venice, in Jonathan Miller's production of The Mikado. She has sung with many of the major orchestras in the UK, the RTE and National Orchestra of Ireland, the Ulster orchestra, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra and has broadcast with the BBC Concert Orchestra. Her association with the conductor Carl Davis has led to concerts in a lighter vein and they have performed programmes of Broadway music with the Hallé, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and Opera North orchestras.
Recent appearances have included concerts with the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and the Hallé, the Nurse in Boris Godunov for the Royal Opera, Covent Garden, recordings for Chandos (The Marriage of Figaro ) and Hyperion ( Sullivan's The Contrabandista and The Foresters ), Katisha in The Mikado for English National Opera, Solokha in Cherevichki ( Tchaikovsky ) for Garsington Opera, Les Noces for Les Jardins de Musiceaux Switzerland and her One-Woman Gilbert and Sullivan show.
In 2005 future engagements include The Bartered Bride for Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Lucia in Cavelleria Rusticana with the Hallé Orchestra and for the Three Choirs Festival, Elgar's The Light of Life.