B i o g r a p h y
British mezzo-soprano Rosemary Clifford read English Literature at the University of Bristol before postgraduate vocal training at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, graduating with distinction. During her time at GSMD she was generously supported in her studies by the Worshipful Companies of Poulters and Haberdashers, the Northfield Educational Trust, the Katy Choules Trust and the Liz Holliday Foundation for Young Singers.
Opera credits include Shepherd Boy Tosca, Bridesmaid Jenufa, Rose Seller Oliver! (Grange Park Opera); Hansel Hansel and Gretel (Opera Unmasked); Popova The Bear (Opera Anywhere); Nancy Albert Herring (Hampstead Garden Opera); Hansel Hansel and Gretel (Cooper Hall Emerging Artists). Chorus work includes Margherita, Medea (Wexford Festival Opera); Tosca, Jenufa, Oliver!, Don Carlo, Fortunio, Dialogues des Carmelites, Queen of Spades (Grange Park Opera); St Matthew Passion (National Theatre); Le nozze di Figaro, Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor (GSMD).
Rosemary is in high demand as an oratorio and concert soloist, performing across the UK. Works include Mendelssohn Elijah, Haydn Nelson Mass, Mozart Requiem, Duruflé Requiem, Britten Spring Symphony. She made her solo Royal Albert Hall debut with the Really Big Chorus, singing Handel’s Messiah, and was a semi-finalist in the London Bach Society Singers’ Prize 2015.
Rosemary is a very active ensemble singer, and was a Monteverdi Choir Apprentice for the year 2014-15. She is a regular member of the critically acclaimed Royal Hospital Chelsea Chapel Choir, and performs with ensembles across the UK and Europe.
Since 2016 Rosemary has been an Opera Prelude artist, winning the Opera Prelude Singers' Prize in 2018. Highlights with them include lecture performances on Chabrier and Bizet at Cadogan Hall and a concert performance of Pauline Viardot’s Cendrillon at Leighton House Museum. She is a current Live Music Now musician with her ensemble, the Leading Ladies.
For a full and up-to-date concert biography,