Mezzo-Soprano Rosalind Plowright

One of the most celebrated artists of our time in a career spanning over 45 years, Rosalind Plowright has sung at the major international theatres such as the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, The Metropolitan Opera, the Opéra National de Paris, the Bavarian State Opera, the Teatro alla Scala, the Arena di Verona, the Teatro Real, and the Grand Théâtre de Genève. Acclaimed as one of the world’s greatest spinto sopranos, her colleagues included Luciano Pavarotti, Plácido Domingo and José Carreras. Conductors with whom she has worked include Claudio Abbado, Semyon Bychkov, Sylvain Cambreling, Mark Elder, Gianandrea Gavazzeni, Michael Gielen, Carlo Maria Giulini, Hartmut Haenchen, Bernard Haitink, Vladimir Jurowski, Gustav Kuhn, Charles Mackerras, Riccardo Muti, Roger Norrington, Kazushi Ono, Seiji Ozawa, Giuseppe Patané, Antonio Pappano, David Parry, Jérémie Rhorer, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Ulf Schirmer, Giuseppe Sinopoli and Jeffrey Tate.

In 1999, she entered the mezzo-soprano repertoire, and has since sung roles such as Principessa di Bouillon in Adriana Lecouvreur, La Madre in Il Prigionero, Kostelnicka in Jenufa, Mila’s Mother in Osud, Marfa in Khovanschina, Mme de Croissy in Dialogues des Carmélites, La Zia Principessa in Suor  Angelica, Adelaide in Arabella,  Klytämnestra in Elektra, Amneris in Aïda and Fricka in Das Rheingold / Die Walküre.

Ms. Plowright’s recordings include Il trovatore, La forza del destino, and Mahler Symphony No. 2, for Deutsche Grammophon, Mary Stuart, Hansel and Gretel, Elijah, Aïda and Otello for Chandos, Les contes d’Hoffmann for EMI and La vestale for Orfeo. Her solo recital disc La Belle Dame Sans Merci, a program which she performed at the Buxton Festival, is also available on Romeo Records. Performances available on DVD include Andrea Chénier from both the Bregenz Festival and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Hänsel und Gretel from The Metropolitan Opera, Dialogues des Carmélites from the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Suor Angelica from Teatro Alla Scala, Il trovatore from the Arena di Verona and Not the Messiah with the Monty Python team.

Ms. Plowright made her Glyndebourne Festival debut in 2018 as The Old Baroness in Vanessa. Engagements during the 2018-2019 season included Contessa di Coigny in Andrea Chénier for the Royal Opera, London, Mila’s Mother in Osud and Mamma Lucia in Cavalleria Rusticana for Opera North, Mamma Lucia for Gothenburg Opera, Mme de la Haltière in Cendrillon for Angers Nantes Opera and Ulrica in Un ballo in maschera for Opera Holland Park. During the 2020-2021 season, Ms. Plowright appeared as Mamma Lucia in Cavalleria Rusticana, which she also sings on Lise Davidsen’s recital for Universal Classics and at the Staatsoper Stuttgart. Engagements during the 2021-2022 season included Mrs. Sedley in Peter Grimes at both Teatro La Fenice and the Theater an der Wien, her debut with Norwegian National Opera as Grandmother Burjovka in Jenufa, and appearances with the Festival Castel Artès which included a recital of Kurt Weill songs.

Her current repertoire includes Mrs. Sedley in Peter Grimes, The Old Baroness in Vanessa, La contessa di Coigny – Madelon in Andea Chénier, Kabanicha in Kát’a Kabanova,Madame de la Haltière in Cendrillon, Mme de Croissy in Dialogues des Carmélites, La zia principessa in Suor Angelica, Klytämnestra in Elektra, The Countess in The Queen of Spades, Mme Arvidson in Un ballo in maschera., and Lucia in Cavalleria Rusticana. The artist’s most recent appearances in the latter role, performed with the Bayerische Staatsoper during the 2024-2025 season, were reviewed by Switzerland’s Opera Diary: “[her] portrayal of the dying Lucia brought the necessary maturity to the cast, her beautiful voice bearing the weight of years with expressive depth.”

Additional recent engagements have included Mrs. Sedley in Peter Grimes at the Theater an der Wien and the Opéra National de Lyon, Contessa di Coigny / Madelon in Andrea Chénier at the Bregenz Festival, Contessa di Coigny in Andrea Chénier for the Royal Opera, London, La Zia Principessa in Suor Angelica for Opera Holland Park and Seattle Opera, Madame de Croissy in Dialogues des Carmélites at the Dutch National Opera and the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Herodias in Salome for Portland Opera, Ulrica in Un ballo in maschera for the Dorset Opera Festival and Mary in Der fliegende Holländer at Teatro Alla Scala, The Baroness in Vanessa for Wexford Festival Opera, Contessa di Coigny in Andrea Chénier at the Bayrerische Staatsoper, Mila’s Mother in Osud and Mamma Lucia in Cavalleria Rusticana for Opera North, Kabanicha in Katya Kabanova at the Staatsoper Berlin, Klytämnestra in Elektra at the National Theatre, Prague, and The Countess in The Queen of Spades for Opera Holland Park.

In 2007, Ms. Plowright was granted the order of Officer of the British Empire (OBE) for her services to music.

QAM proudly represents Ms. Plowright worldwide.