Her operatic roles have included Brigitta in Korngold's Die Tote Stadt (Petrenko/Bayerische Staatstoper on DVD), Mrs Sedley in Britten's Peter Grimes (Gardner/Bayerische Staatsoper), Hedwige in Rossini's Guillaume Tell (Ettinger/Bayerische Staatsoper), Zweite Norn in Wagner's Götterdämmerung (Petrenko/Bayerische Staatsoper), Mrs Grose in Britten's The Turn of the Screw (Eschenbach/La Scala), Juno in Handel's Semele (Luks/Glyndebourne Festival), Lady de Hautdesert in Birtwistle's Gawain (Metzmacher/Salzburg Festival), Jocasta in Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex (Gardiner/Berlin Philharmonic & London Symphony Orchestras on disc), Judith in Bartok's Bluebeard's Castle (Yankovskaya/English National Opera, Mäkelä/Oslo Filharmonien), Dido in Purcell's Dido & Aeneas (Weiss/Festival d'Aix-en-Provence), Waltraute in Wagner’s Die Walküre (Rattle/Bayerische Rundfunks Symphony Orchestra on disc), and Pasqualita in Adams’ Doctor Atomic (Adams/BBC Symphony Orchestra on disc). 

 

In huge demand on the concert platform, she has performed with many of the world’s leading orchestras and conductors. The works of Gustav Mahler lie at the heart of her repertoire, particularly his Second Symphony (Rouvali/Philharmonia Orchestra on disc, Zinman/Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Hruša/Philharmonia Orchestra, Lintu/Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Petrenko/Royal Philharmonic Orchestra), Third Symphony (Vänskä/Minnesota Orchestra on disc, Mäkelä/Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Welser-Möst & Mäkelä/Cleveland Orchestra, Hindoyan/Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra), Eighth Symphony (Bychkov/Czech Philharmonic Orchestra on disc, Mäkelä/Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra on disc, Welser-Möst/Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, K.Petrenko/Bayerisches Staatsorchester, Gardner/London Philharmonic Orchestra), Rückert Lieder (Zinman/Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Søndergård/Royal Scottish National Orchestra), Das Lied Von Der Erde (Marin/Hamburg Symphony Orchestra, Pintscher/Barcelona Symphony Orchestra), and Lieder Eines Fahrenden Gesellen (Hindoyan/Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Collon/Aurora Orchestra).

 

Other collaborations have included Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis (Gardiner/Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique at the BBC Proms, Carnegie Hall and on disc), Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony (Welser-Möst/Cleveland, Royal Concertgebouw & Royal Stockholm Orchestras, Yamada/CBSO), Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder (Madaras/Halle Orchestra, Mendez/Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Hindoyan/Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra), Elgar’s Sea Pictures (Slatkin/Irish National Symphony Orchestra), Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius (Brabbins/BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra), Verdi’s Requiem (Oramo/BBC Symphony Orchestra at the First Night of the Proms, Slatkin/Orchestra National de Lyon, Rouvali/Philharmonia Orchestra at the Edinburgh International Festival), Schumann’s Das Paradies und die Peri (Gatti/Accademia Di Santa Cecilia), Schumann’s Faustszenen (Harding/Gewandhausorchester), Ravel's Schéhérezade (Oramo/BBC Symphony Orchestra), Adès’s Totentanz (Adès/Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra), Janacek's Glagolitic Mass (Kanellakis/BBC Symphony Orchestra at the First Night of the Proms), Britten's Phaedra (Brabbins/Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra), Chausson's Poeme de l'Amour et de la Mer (De Billy/London Philharmonic Orchestra), and Respighi's Il Tramonto (Petrenko/Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra). 

 

She has appeared extensively in recital with Malcolm Martineau, Joseph Middleton, Alisdair Hogarth and James Baillieu for BBC Radio 3, Wigmore Hall, the Concertgebouw, Leeds Lieder and the Aldeburgh Festival. Her extensive discography includes the release of her debut solo album 'A Love Letter To Liverpool' (Rubicon Classics) including You'll Never Walk Alone with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus, which as a single reached #1 in the iTunes Classical Chart, and Anthony Payne’s arrangement of Vaughan Williams’ Four Last Songs with the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Martyn Brabbins for Albion Records, which she premiered at the BBC Proms (Vänska/BBCSO) and which was nominated for a Grammy Award. 

​

She has a successful artistic consultancy, working with global organisations across the cultural sector (museums, local and national governments, symphony orchestras, opera companies, choirs, foundations, festivals and composers). Her current clients include Opéra de Montréal, the London Transport Museum and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. Her work includes strategy and recruitment, bringing culture (including sound and music) into spaces where it has had no or limited exposure, developing and producing innovative creative projects from inception to completion with artistic organisations, and creating partnerships to unite communities via culture and the arts. 

​

She is Patron of Streetwise Opera, Destination Opera and the Southport Bach Choir, Debate Chair and Performing Arts Network Lead at the Royal Society of Arts, a contributing writer for publications including the Guardian, Opera Now, London Book Review and The Stage, and a commentator on the arts for BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio 4, Classic FM and Times Radio. A former Barrister, she holds an MBA from the Global Leaders Institute, and received the Royal Philharmonic Society's Enterprise Award, supporting her participation in Harvard University's Women in Leadership Programme. 

​