Plowright, Rosalind (Anne)

Plowright, Rosalind (Anne) , English mezzosoprano, later soprano; b. Worksop, May 21, 1949. She was a student of F. R. Cox at the Royal Manchester Coll. of Music, where she made her operatic debut in the college’s first British production of J. C. Bach’s Temistocle in 1968. In 1975 she made her first appearance with the English National Opera in London as Page in Salome, and as Agathe with the Glyndebourne Touring Opera. In 1979 she won the Sofia International Competition and sang Miss Jessel in The Turn of the Screw at the English National Opera. She made her debut at London’s Covent Garden as Ortlinde in 1980. In 1981 she sang at the Frankfurt am Main Opera and at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich. In 1982 she made her U.S. debut as a soloist with Muti and the Philadelphia Orch., and then her U.S. operatic debut in Il Corsaro in San Diego. In 1983 she appeared at Milan’s La Scala, the Edinburgh Festival, and in San Francisco. She sang Aida at Covent Garden in 1984, and appeared at the Deutsche Oper in Berlin. In 1986 she sang Senta at Covent Garden. In 1987 she appeared as Gluck’s Alceste at La Scala. In 1990 she made her debut at the Vienna State Opera as Amelia. She was engaged as Tosca at the English National Opera in 1994, and in 1996 she portrayed Santuzza at the Berlin State Opera. She also toured widely as a soloist with orchs. and as a recitalist. Among her other operatic roles were Médée, Rossini’s Desdemona, Norma, Ariadne, and Maddalena in Andrea Chénier.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire