Rosalind Plowright

Rosalind Anne Plowright (born 21 May 1949) is an English opera singer who spent much of her career as a soprano but in 1999 changed to the mezzo-soprano range.

Life and career Rosalind Plowright was born in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, England, and studied at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester and at the London Opera Centre.

Early career Plowright made her professional debut with Glyndebourne Touring Opera in 1975 as Agathe in Der Freischütz. She sang Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni and the Countess in The Marriage of Figaro with the Glyndebourne Touring Opera in 1976 and 1977. Also in 1975, she appeared with both Welsh National Opera and Kent Opera before making her debut with English National Opera as the Page in Salome in 1976. She earned good notices in 1979 for her Fennimore in Frederick Delius's Fennimore and Gerda at London's Camden Festival.

International career In 1980, Plowright sang Manon Lescaut at Torre del Lago, Aida and Ariadne in Frankfurt, Ariadne in Bern and Ortlinde at the Royal Opera House. Her American operatic début was in San Diego as Medora in the United States premiere of Verdi's Il corsaro.

She won first prize in the 7th International Singing Competition, Sofia and a SWET award (now Laurence Olivier Award) in 1979. She was awarded the Prix Fondation Fanny Heldy for her performance as Leonora in the 1984 recording of Verdi's Il trovatore with Domingo, Brigitte Fassbaender, Giorgio Zancanaro, Yevgeny Nesterenko and the Choir and Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia under Carlo Maria Giulini. (Deutsche Grammophon code 423-858-2.) Also in 1984 she was nominated for her second Laurence Olivier Award. In 2007 she won a Grammy for the role of Gertrude in the Chandos recording of Hansel and Gretel.

Other recordings

Other recordings include Maria Stuarda, Otello, Aida and Hänsel und Gretel, all for the Opera in English series for Chandos Records, Elijah also for Chandos, La vestale for Orfeo, Les contes d'Hoffmann for EMI, and Il trovatore, La forza del destino and Mahler's 2nd Symphony for Deutsche Grammophon. La Belle Dame sans Merci for Romeo Records – Release date 6 May 2014.

Video recordings

Suor Angelica Suor Angelica, Il Trittico from La Scala, Milan. Leonora Il Trovatore from L'Arena di Verona. Gertrude Hänsel und Gretel from The Metropolitan Opera, La Contessa di Coigny / Madelon Andrea Chenier from the Bregenz Festival. In 2009, she was a soloist in Not the Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy) for the Royal Albert Hall performance. In 2014, she sang Mme de Croissy in Dialogues des Carmelites at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées.