“‘Gregory is fearless and commanding in an incredibly difficult role.’”
Praised for her “idiomatic and stylish singing” (The Telegraph) British mezzo-soprano Frances Gregory is a recent graduate of Royal Academy Opera and a former Rising Star of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, with whom she sang Elgar’s Sea Pictures at Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre, conducted by Dinis Souza. The 25/26 season sees her as Luna in Tales Untapped: A Rotherham Opera for The Royal Ballet and Opera, Cherubino Le Nozze di Figaro at Opera North, and Idamante Idomeneo with Chelsea Opera Group at Cadogan Hall. For the Buxton International Festival she sings Annio La Clemenza di Tito and Flora Bervoix La Traviata. Concert highlights include Mary L’enfance du Christ with Cambridge Philharmonic, Messiah with Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and The Angel in Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius at Hexham Cathedral.
“Frances Gregory... impressed at many levels: characterisation, personality, style”
Recent work
During 24/25 she made her debut with Vache Baroque as Alcandro L’Olimpiade, and as Cherubino Le Nozze di Figaro with The Mozartists, at Cadogan Hall and Teatro Communale, Sicily. Further engagements included The Angel in Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius at Truro Cathedral and also in Oxford with The English Sinfonia, Messiah with the Ulster Consort in Enniskillen and Belfast, Mary L’enfance du Christ in Wroclaw with the NFM Philharmonic conducted by Paul McCreesh, 2nd Harlot in Handel’s Solomon with the Gabrieli Consort at Inner Temple Hall, l’Opéra Royal de Versailles and the Palau de la Musica Valencia, Geneviève (cover) Pelléas et Melisande for Longborough Festival Opera, Arethuze/Proserpine La descente d’Orphée aux enfers (Charpentier) at the Buxton International Festival and Bach St John Passion with Maggie Faultless.
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During 2023 / 2024 she made her debut with The English Concert as Arnalta / Nutrice / Famigliare 1 L’incoronazione di Poppea at the Palau de la Musica, Barcelona and Auditorio Nacional, Madrid; with The Gabrieli Consort in J. S. Bach’s B Minor Mass at the KKL Lucerne; and at The Grange Festival as Arnalta L’incoronazione di Poppea with La Nuova Musica. In Summer 2024, she created the role of Ellie Gifford in Paul Carr’s Under the Greenwood Tree for Dorset Opera Festival. Concert work included Mozart Requiem at St Endellion Festival, Rossini Petite Messe Solennelle, Dido Dido and Aeneas with Eboracum Baroque and Purcell Songs with Bjarte Eike at the Royal Academy of Music.
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She began the 22/23 season at Opera North as Apsara and La Messaggera (cover) in Orpheus, an innovative re-imagining of Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo, musically directed by Laurence Cummings and Jasdeep Singh Degun. Further engagements for 22/23 included Elgar’s The Music Makers for Buxton Musical Society, Flosshilde (cover) in a new production of The Rhinegold for English National Opera, The Angelin Elgar’sThe Dream of Gerontiusfor the St Endellion Easter Festival and a critically acclaimed return to Longborough Festival Opera as La Messaggera and Proserpina L’Orfeo. She was also a semi-finalist in the 2023 International Handel Singing Competition.
She created the role of Laura in the world premiere of Tom Coult’s Violet at the opening of the 2022 Aldeburgh Festival, with further performances at the Hackney Empire and Buxton International Festival. The production was a collaboration between Britten Pears Arts and Music Theatre Wales, in association with the Royal Opera, and was subsequently nominated for an Independent Opera and UK Achievement in Theatre award. Other recent roles include Nancy in Britten’s Albert Herring for Clonter Opera and Claudio in Handel’s Silla for Northern Opera Group/Leeds Opera Festival. Previously for MTW she covered and performed the mezzo-soprano role in Philip Venables’ European premiere of Denis & Katya, a co-production with Opera Philadelphia.
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During 20/21 she was a studio artist with the Opéra National de Lyon and an emerging artist at Longborough Festival Opera, where roles included Maman, La Tasse Chinoise, and La Libellule L’Enfant et les sortilèges and the Fox and DogThe Cunning Little Vixen.She is a formerAlvarez Young Artist at Garsington Opera where she covered and performed Flamel in Fantasio by Offenbach, and was one of Laurence Cummings’ Handel House Talents for 19-21.For her performance as Sycorax in Jeremy Sams’ pastiche The Enchanted Island with British Youth Opera in 2018,she was awarded the Dame Hilda Brackett Award from Sadler’s Wells.
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Minskwoman Flight, Juno Semele, Véronique Le Docteur Miracle, Laura Iolanta (all with Royal Academy Opera), Egeo Teseo (London Handel Festival), Idamante Idomeneo (2018 Amersham Festival of Music), and Hansel Hansel and Gretel, directed by Sarah Walker CBE. Chorus work includes the 2021 Glyndebourne Tour, 2019 Garsington Festival, 2017 Festival d’Aix-en-Provence and the 2016 Glyndebourne Festival.
Whilst studying she was a Karaviotis scholar, semi-finalist in the National Mozart Singing Competition, winner of the 2018 RAM Club Prize and the Tom Hammond Opera Prize, a RAM/Kohn Foundation Bach cantata soloist, and a member of the Academy’s prestigious Song Circle. Prior to joining RAO she received a Distinction in her Masters from the RAM, as well as a DipRAM for an outstanding final recital. Notable engagements whilst studying included Bach’s St. Matthew Passion conducted by Trevor Pinnock as part of the RAM Bach: the European series, her Cadogan Hall debut and her Wigmore Hall recital debut, promoting the Balladen of Carl Loewe, for Song Circle.
“The most idiomatic, stylish singing comes from Frances Gregory”
Frances is represented by James Black at James Black Management.
© Julian Guidera