Mezzo-soprano

Carolyn Holt

Der Rosenkavalier

Biography

Carolyn Holt is from a farming background in Kildare. She made her Irish National Opera debut as The Voice in Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffmann, for which she received critical acclaim. Bachtrack wrote “Carolyn Holt as the voice of Antonia’s mother stood out with her rich and seductive mezzo-soprano”. She covered the role of Mrs Sedley in the Royal Opera House’s five-star production of Britten’s Peter Grimes in 2022, and has recently performed with Garsington Opera, Scottish Opera and Welsh National Opera. She sang the role of Sister Helen Prejean in the UK stage premiere of Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking in Glasgow, also to great critical acclaim. Opera magazine wrote: “Carolyn Holt’s Sister Helen was impeccably sung, sensitively acted and never less than sincere”. She has enjoyed recent success in competitions, particularly the Veronica Dunne International Singing Competition, in which she was awarded the Dermot Troy Prize for the best Irish singer in 2019, and one of the first Veronica Dunne Bursaries of €5000 in 2020. Other competitions successes include the Grange International Singing Competition (semi-finalist), Bampton Opera Young Singers’ Competition (second place) and the NI Opera Festival of Voice (Audience Prize). Carolyn, who has been praised in concert for her “wonderfully dark, rich tone,” is in demand as a soloist with orchestras and choral societies throughout the UK and Ireland.

May 2022