Last night the mezzo-soprano was Beth Taylor, and rarely if ever have I felt the power of that call so strongly. She sang with a perfectly natural fullness of tone that was tender and magnificent at once, though she had already melted us in the preceding hushed prayer to the “little angel” to allow us into heaven.”
Biography
Glaswegian Mezzo Beth Taylor, lauded for her “strong presence”, “sensational coloratura” and “intriguing depth”, is on the onset of a major international career.
This 2022/23 season, Beth made her role debuts as Erda and Erste Norn in Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen at the Deutsche Oper Berlin and also as the title role in Rossini's rarely performed melodramma, Bianca e Falliero at Oper Frankfurt. More recently, she made her Glyndebourne Festival debut as Bradamante in a new production of Handel’s Alcina, the role of Arsace in Rossini’s “Semiramide” and of Giuliano Gordio in Cavalli’s “Eliogabalo” at the Opernhaus Zürich. Upcoming appearances include Mendelssohn’s “Elijah” at the Opéra de Lyon, Anna in Berlioz’s “Les Troyens”, touring with Sir John Eliot Gardiner and the Monteverdi Choir, Mozart’s “Requiem” with Raphäel Pichon and Ensemble Pygmalion and the Sorceress in Purcell’s “Dido and Aeneas” with il Pomo d’Oro Orchestra and Maxim Emelyanychev.
Other recent highlights include the the role of Arsace in Rossini’s “Semiramide” at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, conducted by Corrado Rovaris, the role of Giuliano in Cavalli’s rarely performed “Eliogabalo” at the Opernhaus Zürich and the role of “The Angel” in Elgar’s “The Dream of Gerontius” with the Southbank Sinfonia in Rome for the official canonisation of the librettist, Sir John Henry Newman.
Beth is grateful to be in very high demand across Europe’s concert platforms also in song and oratorio. She has performed numerous popular and lesser known works with notable ensembles including the Dunedin Consort, Capella Mediterranea, Netherlands Radio Filarmonorchestra, the Ricecar Ensemble and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. Recent concert performances include the role of Argia in the first performance in modern times of Giacomelli’s “La Merope” at Het Concertgebouw and the role of Cornelia in Handel’s “Giulio Cesare” at the Auditorio Nacional de Madrid, both with La Cetra Barockorchester with Andrea Marcon.
In song, her recent collaborations with notable pianists and chamber musicians Julius Drake, Jonathan Ware, Marcia Hadjimarkos, Mathieu Pordoy and rising star Hamish Brown have led to several celebrated recitals in Denmark, Ireland, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Italy.
Beth graduated with distinction from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (2012-2018) and from the Open University under the tutelage of Margaret Izatt and Iain Paton. She is currently refining her technique with the support of several coaches including the legendary mezzo-soprano, Jennifer Larmore.
She is also an enthusiastic ambassador for arts education in environments catering to individuals with additional support needs, having worked as a tutor and practitioner for Paragon Music in Glasgow and as a member of the Live Music Now Scotland scheme. She hopes to devote more time in the near future working to ensure more of Scotland’s musicians have access to quality arts education, training, representation and mainstream performance opportunities.
She is the 3rd prize winner of the 2019 Wigmore Hall Competition, the 1st prize winner of the 2018 Gianni Bergamo Classical Music Awards in Switzerland and grand winner of the prestigious 2022 Elizabeth Connell Prize for dramatic voices. She was a grand finalist in the 2023 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition, representing Scotland.
