Louise Winter - mezzo-soprano
Louise Winter was born in Preston, Lancashire, and studied at the Royal Northern College of Music. She made her début in 1982 with Glyndebourne Touring Opera as Dorabella Così fan tutte and subsequently sang Tisbe La Cenerentola, Zerlina Don Giovanni, and Rosina Il barbiere di Siviglia for the company. Roles for Glyndebourne Festival Opera have included Sesto La clemenza di Tito, Edwige Rodelinda, Varvara Katya Kabanova, Pauline Queen of Spades and Olga Eugene Onegin, which she has also sung for the Royal Opera House and Canadian Opera Company. Louise also enjoys a strong relationship with English National Opera, where roles included title role Carmen and Marguerite La Damnation de Faust.
Most recently Louise has begun working on more dramatic repertoire, including Brangäne Tristan und Isolde, Venus Tannhäuser, Preziosilla La Forza del Destino and Lady Macbeth in Ernst Bloch’s Macbeth for Frankfurt Opera.
Louise enjoys concert work with many of the world’s leading orchestras and conductors, including the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra with Sir Simon Rattle, the BBC Symphony Orchestra with Sir Andrew Davis, the Hallé Orchestra with Mark Elder, the Philharmonia Orchestra under Sir Charles Mackerras, and has taken part in many of the BBC Proms over the last decade. Recital engagements have included appearances at the Wigmore Hall, St John's, Smith Square, the Théâtre du Châtelet, the Bath, Belfast and City of London Festivals and at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw.
Recent highlights include a return to Frankfurt singing Venus Tannhäuser, Purcell’s Dido in London’s Temple Festival, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony under Carlo Rizzi, Mozart’s Requiem at Cadogan Hall, Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde in York Minster, and and Wife Greek with Music Theatre Wales.
Plans include her role debut as Kabanicha Katya Kabanova (Longborough Festival) and a new opera by Huw Watkins In the Locked Room a co production between Music Theatre Wales and Scottish Opera.