Karen Cargill

Scottish mezzo-soprano Karen Cargill studied at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and was the winner of the 2002 Kathleen Ferrier Award. Forthcoming concert highlights include Gurrelieder with the Orquesta Nacional de Espana and David Afkham, Bruckner’s Mass in F minor with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Mariss Jansons, Mahler’s Second Symphony with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Mirga Gražinytė-tyla, Brangäne in concert for Montpellier Opera and Das Lied von der Erde and La Damnation de Faust for DSO Berlin and Robin Ticciati. On the opera stage she recently appeared as Waltraute in Götterdämmerung at the Royal Opera Covent Garden, and has three return invitations to the Metropolitan Opera, New York with roles including Erda and Mère Marie.

Highlights with her regular recital partner, Simon Lepper, include appearances at Wigmore Hall London, the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Kennedy Center Washington and Carnegie Hall, as well as regular recitals for BBC Radio 3. With Lepper she recently recorded a critically-acclaimed recital of lieder by Alma and Gustav Mahler for Linn Records for whom she has also recorded Berlioz Les nuits d’été and La mort de Cléopâtre with Robin Ticciati and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra.

In July 2018 Karen was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.