Margaret Keys is an Irish classical soprano.

Biography

Keys was a primary school teacher for four years before taking a career break and entering the music industry. At the age of 15, Keys was awarded the

Trinity College of Music Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance is a music and dance conservatoire based in London, England. It was formed in 2005 as a merger of two older institutions – Trinity College of Music and Laban Dance Centre. The conservatoire has ...

London Medal for the best overall singer in her music examinations. She has a master's degree in Singing and Performance from the

Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland ( gd, Conservatoire Rìoghail na h-Alba), formerly the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama ( gd, Acadamaidh Rìoghail Ciùil is Dràma na h-Alba) is a conservatoire of dance, drama, music, production, and ...

. She has performed in Ireland and the United Kingdom, North America and Australia. She has also participated in musical theater productions (including

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

) and vocal workshops. Being the recipient of the New York Artist Award and the BBC Fame Academy Bursary, Keys has worked with acclaimed stars, producers and directors from Broadway, including Sir

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948), is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musicals, ...

. Her musical theater repertoire includes, amongst others, ''

Beauty and the Beast ''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve, Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' ( ...

'', ''

Phantom of the Opera ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (french: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra) is a novel by French author Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serial in from 23 September 1909 to 8 January 1910, and was released in volume form in late March 1910 by Pierr ...

'', ''

My Fair Lady ''My Fair Lady'' is a musical based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play ''Pygmalion'', with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons f ...

'', ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its original ...

'', ''

Mary Poppins It may refer to: * ''Mary Poppins'' (book series), the original 1934–1988 children's fantasy novels that introduced the character. * Mary Poppins (character), the nanny with magical powers. * ''Mary Poppins'' (film), a 1964 Disney film sta ...

'' and ''

Carousel A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (List of sovereign states, international), roundabout (British English), or hurdy-gurdy (an old term in Australian English, in South Australia, SA) is a type of amusement ...

''. Keys performed for an audience of 35,000 at Rotorua Lakeside Concert. Her later performance at the National Concert Hall in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

was viewed favourable by the critics and resulted in the signing by

Universal Records Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch–American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

. Keys released her first studio album, ''Legato'', which debuted at number 14. She has performed in the Royal Albert Hall and has toured with

Alfie Boe Alfred Giovanni Roncalli Boe (born 29 September 1973) is an English tenor and actor, notably performing in musical theatre. He is best known for his performances as Jean Valjean in the musical ''Les Misérables'' at the Queen's Theatre in Lo ...

Russell Watson Russell Watson is an English tenor who has released singles and albums of both operatic-style and pop songs. He began singing as a child, and became known after performing at a working men's club. He came to attention in 1999 when he sang "God ...

Paul Potts Paul Potts (born 13 October 1970) is an English tenor. In 2007, he won the first series of ITV's ''Britain's Got Talent'' with his performance of "Nessun dorma", an aria from Puccini's opera ''Turandot''. As a singer of operatic pop music, Po ...

, the Welsh

Fron Male Voice Choir The Froncysyllte Male Voice Choir ( cy, Côr Meibion Froncysyllte), also known as the Fron Choir ( cy, Côr Fron), is an amateur male voice choir based in the village of Froncysyllte (pronounced roughly ''vron-cuss-ulth/ tay''), Wrexham County Borou ...

and performed in West End theatres. She performed during Pope Francis' first state visit to America in September 2015 and also for his private reception at Mansion House, Dublin. Keys made her debut at Carnegie Hall, New York, in December 2016 and Sunday Night at the London Palladium in 2017. Margaret released her highly anticipated album "The Gift of Music" in June 2018. It soared straight to the top of the Official Classical and Classicfm charts, as the highest new entry, beating off competition from some of the world's most famous classical stars. She was also the first ever female performer from Ireland to ever enter the Official Classical Charts. Following this success she was invited to perform for The Royal Christmas Carol Concert at St James' palace for members of the Royal family and 300 special guests.

Philanthropy

She founded MKeys Productions where she produces and directs children's productions for charity. Keys is also an ambassador for the HRH Prince of Wales Foundation for Children and Arts.

References

External links

Interview with Derry Journal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keys, Margaret Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century Irish women opera singers Living people Opera crossover singers 20th-century Irish women opera singers