Artists 2020/21

Alice Coote

Alice Coote

The mezzo-soprano Alice Coote is considered one of the great artists of our time. As famous on the big opera stages as in concerts, it has been referred to as the “British mezzo of superlatives” (San Francisco Chronicle). Her performances have been described as "breathtaking in her conviction and subtlety of perception" (The Times) and her voice as "beautiful, to be sure, but more importantly, she excites you to the core" (The Daily Telegraph).

Alice Coote, has worked her way from her beginnings in the north of England (born in Cheshire), singing at local festivals and playing the oboe in the Cheshire Youth Orchestra, to international recognition.

The concert platform plays a central role in her musical life, which is why she performs all over the UK, Europe and the USA - including in the Wigmore Hall, the BBC Proms, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Wiener Konzerthaus, the Lincoln Center NY and the Carnegie Hall. Most recently she made her debut with Schubert's Winterreise at the Mariinsky Festival "The Stars of White Nights" in St. Petersburg.

She is particularly known for her interpretations of the works of Strauss, Mahler, Berlioz, Mozart, Handel and Bach with orchestras such as the London Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the OAE, the English concert , the Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Hallé and the Concertgebouw.

Through her operatic career, Coote spends much of her time both in the UK and abroad interpreting male and female roles such as Dejanira Hercules, Leonore La Favorite, Carmen, and the title role in Ariodante. She has played these roles at Opera North, Welsh National Opera, Scottish Opera, English National Opera, Glyndebourne and the Royal Opera House. In Europe she has appeared at opera houses such as the Opéra de Paris and the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Amsterdam, and appearances in the USA and Canada include the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Seattle and the Metropolitan Opera New York.

Her numerous recordings and DVD appearances include: Mahler Song Cycles (Pentatone); an album of the English song The Power of Love (Hyperion); Songs by Robert Schumann and Gustav Mahler (EMI) and Hansel Hansel and Gretel (EMI).


In 2018 she received an OBE for services to music.