Dame Felicity Lott was a vital part of the Wigmore French Song Exchange programme, working on it for six editions from 2019-2026, mentoring 48 singers and 10 pianists. As part of the scheme, Dame Felicity helped produce 18 concerts at Wigmore Hall and in Paris, and through one-on-one coaching, group masterclasses and mentoring, she shared her expert knowledge and love of French song, nurturing young artists with her warm and personal teaching style at an early stage of their careers.

Felicity Lott was born and educated in Cheltenham, read French at Royal Holloway College, of which she became an Honorary Fellow, and singing at the Royal Academy of Music, of which she became a Fellow and a Visiting Professor.

Her operatic repertoire ranged from Handel to Stravinsky, but she above all built her formidable international reputation as an interpreter of the great roles of Mozart and Strauss. At the Royal Opera House, she sang Anne Trulove, Blanche, Ellen Orford, Eva, Countess Almaviva and under Mackerras, Tate, Davis and Haitink, the Marschallin. At the Glyndebourne Festival, her roles included Anne Trulove, Pamina, Donna Elvira, Oktavian, Christine Intermezzo, Countess Madeleine Capriccio and the title role in Arabella. Her roles at the Bavarian State Opera, Munich included Christine, Countess Almaviva, Countess Madeleine and the Marschallin. For the Vienna State Opera, her roles included the Marschallin under Kleiber which she sang both in Vienna and Japan. In Paris, at the Opera Bastille, Opera Comique, Chatelet and Palais Garnier she sang Cleopatra, Fiordiligi, Countess Madeleine, the Marschallin and the title roles in La Belle Helene and La Grande Duchesse de Gerolstein. At the Metropolitan Opera, New York, she sang the Marschallin under Carlos Kleiber and Countess Almaviva under James Levine. More recently she sang Poulenc’s heroine in staged performances of La Voix Humaine at the Teatro de La Zarzuela, Madrid, the Maison de la Culture de Grenoble and the Opera National de Lyon.

She sang with the Vienna Philharmonic and Chicago Symphony Orchestras under Solti, the Munich Philharmonic under Mehta, the London Philharmonic under Haitink, Welser-Moest and Masur, the Concertgebouworkest under Masur, the Suisse Romande and Tonhalle orchestras under Armin Jordan, the Boston Symphony under Previn, the New York Philharmonic under Previn and Masur, the BBC Symphony Orchestra with Sir Andrew Davis in London, Sydney and New York, and the Cleveland Orchestra under Welser-Moest in Cleveland and Carnegie Hall. In Berlin, she sang with the Berlin Philharmonic under Solti and Rattle and the Deutsche Staatskapelle under Philippe Jordan.

A founder member of The Songmakers' Almanac, Dame Felicity appeared on the major recital platforms of the world, including the Salzburg, Prague, Bergen, Aldeburgh, Edinburgh and Munich Festivals, the Musikverein and Konzerthaus in Vienna and the Salle Gaveau, Musée d’Orsay, Opera Comique, Chatelet and Theatre des Champs Elysees in Paris.

Her many awards included honorary doctorates at the Universities of Oxford, Loughborough, Leicester, London and Sussex and the Royal Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow. She was made a CBE in the 1990 New Year Honours and in 1996 was created a Dame Commander of the British Empire. In February 2003, she was awarded the title of Bayerische Kammersängerin. She has also been awarded the titles Officier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and Chevalier de l’Ordre National de la Légion d’Honneur by the French Government. She was honoured with the 2015 Incorporated Society of Musicians Distinguished Musician Award and the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2016 International Classical Music Awards.