Ann Mackay


Ann Mackay is an English soprano..

Biography

Ann Mackay was born in London, England. She studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and with Elisabeth Schwarzkopf with whom she appeared at London's Wigmore Hall and elsewhere in Britain and Germany
Mackay was the recipient of numerous awards before and after attending the Guildhall School of Music and Drama including Greater London Council's "Outstanding Musician 1979", the Haydn Memorial Award and the National Federation of Music Societies Award for Young Concert Artists.
In 1981 Mackay won the Society of West End Theatre Award for Outstanding First Achievement in Opera, presented to her by Joan Sutherland, for her portrayal of Stasi in The Gypsy Princess.
In 1981 Ann Mackay won the Concert Artists Guild of America Amcon Award following which she gave her New York debut at Carnegie Hall and toured the United States.
Mackay is a frequent performer at venues and festivals across Europe, America and Australia and has performed with numerous orchestras including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, London Mozart Players, City of London Sinfonia, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and others. She also has performed regularly on BBC radio and television.
In 1983 Mackay played Rose Trelawny in BBC Radio 4's 1983 production of Julian Slade's musical play Trelawny. In 1988 Mackay starred in Sadler's Wells Opera Company's four month West End run and UK tour of Noël Coward's Bitter Sweet. In 1989 Mackay sang in John Rutter's Requiem under the direction of the composer at the Three Choirs Festival in Hereford. In 1990 Mackay toured France, Italy, Spain and the UK with the European Community Chamber Orchestra as their Guest Singer of the Year In 1992 the Worshipful Company of Musicians elected Mackay a John Clementi Fellow, one of their most prestigious awards for a "professional musician of outstanding ability" for her study of the music of George Frideric Handel. Her subsequent Handel performances in the roles of Bernedice, Parthenope and Alcina with the Cambridge Handel Opera Group in the 1990s won her critical acclaim.
In addition to her Handel performances she is highly regarded for her singing of French repertoire and of Richard Strauss Mackay has worked with numerous artists in the field of classical music, including Willard White, Simon Rattle, Stephen Cleobury, Nicholas McGegan and Marisa Robles

Family

Ann Mackay has three daughters. Her eldest daughter is Hannah Mackay, the British television comedy producer of the BAFTA nominated series Peep Show, script editor of the Rose D'Or winning and BAFTA nominated series Toast of London, writer on BAFTA nominated CBBC sitcom Sadie J. and other shows..

Recordings

Mackay has recorded for the RPO, Decca, Erato, ASV, Meridian, and other companies, including, for Decca, Dixit Dominus with the English Chamber Orchestra and the Choir of King's College, Cambridge conducted by Stephen Cleobury, for RPO Records Paul Patterson's Mass of the Sea with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Geoffrey Simon, for Erato Jean-Philippe Rameau's opera Naïs with the English Bach Festival Singers and English Bach Festival Baroque Orchestra conducted by Nicholas McGegan and, for ASV, an album of Handel with the European Community Chamber Orchestra conducted by Eivind Aadland. Other recordings include a series, for Meridian, with the English Piano Trio of Scottish folk song arrangements by Haydn and Beethoven. Mackay's 1984 album My Minstrel Love was chosen as Record of the Month by Hi-Fi News & Record Review.