Amanda Roocroft
Amanda was born, brought up and educated in Lancashire. In her youth she was a talented pianist and soprano cornet player. Her first love, however, was always singing. She entered and won most of the music festivals in the North West on all three disciplines, but it was singing she chose to study at the Royal Northern College of Music.
She won many prizes whilst still at college, including the prestigious Curtis Gold Medal for Singing and the Freddie Cox Award. Nationally she won the Kathleen Ferrier Prize and the Silver Medal of the Worshipful Company of Musicians. Whilst still a student she made her professional operatic debut with Welsh National Opera in 1990, playing the role of Sophie in Der Rosenkavelier, for which she was awarded the Royal Philharmonic Society Music Award for the "Impact of her Debut and the promise of a glittering career". The following year she made her Royal Opera House debut as Pamina in the Magic Flute and her Glyndebourne debut as Fiordiligi in Cosi Fan Tutte.
Since those early days her career has taken her around the world. She has performed in most of the major opera houses in the UK, North America, Europe and Japan, and with many great conductors including Sir Simon Rattle, Sir Neville Marriner, Sir Edward Downes, Valery Gergiev, Zubin Mehta and many more. She has appeared at the Proms and the Edinburgh Festival on a regular basis.
She has also been honoured by being made a Fellow of the University of Central Lancashire, and of the Royal Northern College of Music and a Doctor of Music at Manchester University. In 2007 she won an Olivier Award for "Outstanding Achievement in Opera" for her portrayal of Jenufa in Janacek's opera of the same name with English National Opera. Recently she has sung Madame Butterfly for WNO, reprised her starring role as Jenufa in Madrid, and sung the role of Eve in WNO's production of Die Meistersingers which was also performed at the Proms.
In 2010 she gave an outstanding performance in Janacek's "The Makropulos Case" at ENO and in 2011 she will return to the Royal Opera House singing Ellen Orford in Peter Grimes by Benjamin Britten.
As well as wowing the critics on a regular basis throughout her career, she was included in The Times "Top Twenty World's Divas" and, according to music critic Norman Lebrecht "... is the only British Soprano left on the world stage."
Apart from singing in opera, concerts and Lieder recitals she is also a Professor of Vocal Studies at the Royal College of Music in London.