ABOUT

Welcome to the website of British soprano Caroline MacPhie

Described as a singer with ‘flair, style and imagination’ (The Telegraph), Lyon based Caroline MacPhie is a versatile artist, performing as a soloist in repertoire from Monteverdi to Max Richter with companies such as Royal Opera House, Opera North, Scottish Opera, Opéra  National de Lyon and Opéra National de Lorraine. In concert she has performed with leading ensembles including Hallé, Hanover Band, Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Philharmonia. A committed recitalist, she made her Wigmore Hall debut in 2010 and has since gone on to perform at major UK festivals as well as further afield. A specialist in repertoire by female composers, her latest album with pianist Joseph Middleton ‘Love said to me….’ is a collection of songs inspired or written by women.

 

Alongside her performance career, Caroline is a keynote speaker and workshop leader. She works with groups from 10 to several hundred people using opera as a motivational tool. Her latest lecture on the importance of work ethic – “It’s not over until the diligent lady sings” – provides a unique approach to inspiring and nurturing a strong sense of purpose at work. Since 2019, Caroline is also Artistic Director of Mission Opéra, a unique outreach project through which she has worked with over 350 young people from vocational high schools in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.  In 2023 she founded the charity Mission Opéra France in order to enable the project to become a national initiative.

NEWS

Interview with France 24 following the opening recital at Festival Présences Féminines 2019 at Toulon Opera

Reviews

Barbara Maxwell

Special mention must go to MacPhie’s performance as Pamina. Her solos were breathtaking and she manages to convey the many emotions required for this part.

Jean-Charles Hoffelé

The lovely, sweet toned Papagena, Caroline MacPhie…

Sarah Urwin Jones

On stage, Caroline MacPhie did excellent work… both vocally and dramatically…

Fabrice Malkani

…the quality of the three ladies, Caroline MacPhie, Heather Newhouse and Dorothea Spilger, who bring grace and intelligence to the vocal line and the text.

Ekkehard Pluta

Her bright, light lyrical soprano voice… also has dramatic bite. The performance is imaginative and eloquent…

Gérard Ferrand

One must also mention the performance of the beautiful Caroline MacPhie in the (far too brief) role of a young girl…

Rupert Christiansen

But my personal favourite was the Lancashire-born Caroline MacPhie. Her light-lyric instrument was clean-toned and perfectly tuned, and she delivered an enterprisingly original programme… with flair, style and musical imagination.

Sam Smith

…as Susanna, Caroline MacPhie reveals a clear soprano and excellent enunciation in a performance that proves to be just as sharp as the character.

Rupert Christiansen

MacPhie sings with haunting sensitivity and emotional engagement… This lovely disc marks the arrival of a fine young recitalist.

Richard Morrison

Caroline MacPhie, the only Brit, put over her material with far more dramatic verve than anyone else; her Cunning Little Vixen extract, sung in Czech, was especially gripping.