Felicity Lott: Renowned British Soprano Dies at 79

BOURGES, FRANCE – MARCH 03: Soprano Felicity Lott at Saint Bonnet Theater in Bourges, France on March 3, 2016 in Bourges, France. (Photo by Thierry Orban/Getty Images)

Felicity Lott was renowned worldwide and greatly appreciated France.

British soprano Felicity Lott passed away from cancer at the age of 79 on Saturday, her agent announced on Sunday. The singer was highly esteemed in the UK and also in France.

During her four-decade career, this soprano nicknamed “Flott” performed in operas and concert halls worldwide, known for her interpretations of works by Richard Strauss, Jacques Offenbach, and Mozart.

Born in 1947 in Cheltenham, in western England, this music lover started playing the piano at the age of five, then took up singing and violin at 12. She studied at the Royal Academy of Music and made her opera debut in 1975, stepping in last minute to play Pamina in Mozart’s “The Magic Flute.”

Appearing regularly at the BBC Proms classical music festival, she was knighted by Elizabeth II in 1996 and also decorated with the Legion of Honour in France.

The Royal Ballet and the Royal Opera in London paid tribute to one of the greatest sopranos of her time, celebrated worldwide for the grace and pure beauty of her voice, maintaining her British “authenticity and self-deprecating humor.”

The Paris Opera also honored her for her deep emotional ties with France, having spent a year as an English assistant near Grenoble before joining the Royal Academy. The institution explained, “Felicity Lott carried the French repertoire with incomparable diction, unique sensitivity, and a sincere love for French culture that earned her the faithful admiration of the French public throughout her career.“

(btr/ats)