Alice Coote

Who is Alice Coote?

Alice Coote is a British lyric mezzo-soprano.

Alice Coote was born in Frodsham, Cheshire, the daughter of the painter Mark Coote. She was educated at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester and the National Opera Studio during 1995–96. Coote was a BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist from 2001–2003. She sings both operatic and recital repertoire, in the latter often with pianist Julius Drake.

An interpreter of Handel she has performed contemporary pieces such as Dominick Argento's From the Diary of Virginia Woolf, a partly atonal work first performed by Janet Baker, an influence on Coote. Judith Weir has written a song cycle, The Voice of Desire, especially for her; it was premiered at a BBC Chamber Prom.

Alice Coote has performed at England's Opera North, the English National Opera, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the San Francisco Opera in 2002 and 2008. In 2009, she sang Maffio Orsini in Gaetano Donizetti's Lucrezia Borgia at the Bavarian State Opera. She also appeared in 2011 as Prince Charming in Cendrillon at the Royal Opera House.