Mezzo-soprano

Colette McGahon

Faust

Biography

Irish mezzo-soprano Colette McGahon has had an exciting and varied career ranging from opera and oratorio to song recital and the creation of contemporary roles written specifically for her voice. Her wide range of operatic roles include Ottavia in Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea, Marcellina in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro, Kostelnička in Janáček's Jenůfa, Mrs Grose in Britten’s The Turn of the Screw and the title role in Bizet’s Carmen. Conductors she has worked with include Simon Rattle, Bernard Haitink and Ivor Bolton, and she has been directed by Peter Hall, Trevor Nunn and Richard Jones.

She has appeared with Opera Ireland, Opera Northern Ireland, Opera Theatre Company, Glyndebourne Touring Opera, Opera 80, the festivals of Covent Garden, Buxton, Glyndebourne and Longborough, and at the BBC Proms. As a recitalist she has sung in the Purcell Room and Queen Elizabeth Hall in London and the National Concert Hall in Dublin and her discography includes Stanford’s Requiem on the Marco Polo label. Career highlights include a highly-acclaimed Wagner debut singing the role of Waltraute in Götterdämmerung for Longborough Festival Opera.

June 2023