KarenCargill
Representation
Worldwide general management with Askonas Holt
About Karen
Following her critically acclaimed Brangaene Tristan und Isolde at the Glyndebourne Festival, Scottish mezzo-soprano Karen Cargill's 2024/25 season sees her return to the role with Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Philadelphia Orchestra, and with Sir Simon Rattle and the Bayerischer Rundfunk Orchestra. She will also make her role debut as Brigitte in Die Tote Stadt in concerts with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Andris Nelsons. Karen will return to the Montreal Symphony Orchestra for Schoenberg's Gurrelieder with Rafael Payare; the San Francisco Symphony for Verdi's Requiem with Esa-Pekka Salonen; the Toronto Symphony for Mozart's Requiem with Jukka-Pekka Saraste; and the San Diego Symphony for Mahler Symphony no. 3 with Rafael Payare.
Her 2023/24 season included a revered tour of Die Walküre (Fricka) with the Rotterdam Philharmonic and Yannick Nézet-Séguin; Bartók's Duke Bluebeard's Castle (Judith) with Karina Canellakis and the Boston Symphony; Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde with the Wiener Symphoniker and Robin Ticciati; and Berlioz La mort de Cléopȃtre with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Maxim Emelyanychev.
She is Patron of the National Girls' Choir of Scotland and in 2018 was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. She sang in the National Service of Thanksgiving and Dedication for King Charles III following his Coronation in 2023.
Representation
Worldwide general management with Askonas Holt
Season Highlights
Video
Karen Cargill sings Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde with Cristian Măcelaru
Cristian Măcelaru (conductor), Karen Cargill (mezzo-soprano), Klaus Florian Vogt (tenor); Filmed in Cologne, Germany. Credit: WDR Symphony Orchestra
PlayingKaren Cargill sings Berlioz’s Les Nuits d’été with Valery Gergiev and the London Symphony Orchestra
Filmed in London, UK. Credit: Medici TV / London Symphony Orchestra
PlayingKaren Cargill sings Marguerite’s aria from La Damnation de Faust with Sir Simon Rattle
Sir Simon Rattle (conductor), Karen Cargill (mezzo soprano), London Symphony Orchestra; Filmed in London, UK. Credit: London Symphony Orchestra
Playing
News
Press
Tristan und Isolde (Brangäne)
Glyndebourne with Robin TicciatiJul 2024Karen Cargill had suffered an injury, but gamely sang Brangäne from the wings... Cargill is one of those singers whose presence on a cast list immediately inspires confidence and her warm, treacle-rich middle register was ideally suited to the role. Empathy, concern, guilt all suffused her performance as the opera unfolded.
- Dominic Lowe, Bachtrack
- 31 July 2024
Her vocal performance was thrilling...
- Sam Smith, Muisc OMH
- 31 July 2024
Karen Cargill – injured in rehearsal... – sings Brangäne magnificently from the wings...
- Michael Church, iNews
- 30 July 2024
...Cargill sings magnificently...
- George Hall, The Stage
- 30 July 2024
Karen Cargill may have suffered a nasty fall which impaired her mobility, but her voice remained supremely agile in her role as Isolde’s faithful maid, Brangäne. She sang with remarkable projection.
- Mike Hardy, OperaWire
- 02 August 2024
Discography
- Berlioz: The Damnation of Faust
- Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 1-9
- Dvořák: Requiem, Op. 89
- Fleur de mon âme
- Berlioz: La damnation de Faust
- Berlioz: Harold en Italie & La mort de Cléopâtre
- Bruckner: Mass No. 3 in F Minor, WAB 28 (Nowak Edition) [Live]
- Berlioz Odyssey
- Alma & Gustav Mahler: Lieder
- Berlioz: L'Enfance du Christ, Op. 25