Margaret Preece is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

tic soprano. She trained at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and the

National Opera Studio The National Opera Studio in London, England was established in 1977 by the Arts Council as a link between the music colleges and the six main UK opera companies. It was resident at Morley College in Lambeth until 2003, when it gained use for t ...

. Originally from

Solihull Solihull (, or ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the wider Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in West Midlands County, England. The town had a population of 126,577 at the 2021 Census. Solihull is situated on the River Blyth ...

, she has worked with

English National Opera English National Opera (ENO) is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with The Royal Opera. ENO's productions are sung in English ...

Scottish Opera Scottish Opera is the national opera company of Scotland, and one of the five national performing arts companies of Scotland. Founded in 1962 and based in Glasgow, it is the largest performing arts organisation in Scotland. History Scottish ...

Opera North Opera North is an English opera company based in Leeds. The company's home theatre is the Leeds Grand Theatre, but it also presents regular seasons in several other cities, at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham, the Lowry Centre, Salford Quays and ...

and the Carl Rosa Company. In 2007 she starred in the high-profile West End revival of ''

The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, ''The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. S ...

'' as the Mother Abbess, replacing

Lesley Garrett Lesley Garrett, CBE (born 10 April 1955) is an English soprano singer, musician, broadcaster and media personality. She is noted for being at home in opera and "crossover music". Early life Garrett was born in the town of Thorne, near Donc ...

. In 2008 Margaret Preece released an album called ''Isn't It Romantic'', which features 17 songs by Richard Rodgers with lyrics by both Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein, including ''

Isn't It Romantic? "Isn't It Romantic?" is a popular song and part of the Great American Songbook. The music was composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Lorenz Hart. It has a 32-bar chorus in A–B–A–C form. Alec Wilder, in his book ''American Popular Song: ...

''. Following the closure of ''The Sound Of Music'', she played Vava in Opera North's production of '' Paradise Moscow'' in spring 2009. There were performances in

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

Salford Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...

(''

the Lowry The Lowry is a theatre and gallery complex at Salford Quays, Salford, Greater Manchester, England. It is named after the early 20th-century painter L. S. Lowry, known for his paintings of industrial scenes in North West England. The complex ope ...

''),

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

and

Bregenz Bregenz (; gsw, label= Vorarlbergian, Breagaz ) is the capital of Vorarlberg, the westernmost state of Austria. The city lies on the east and southeast shores of Lake Constance, the third-largest freshwater lake in Central Europe, between Switze ...

. In the summer, Preece reprised her role as the Mother Abbess in the UK Tour of ''The Sound of Music'', including performances at the

Wales Millennium Centre Wales Millennium Centre ( cy, Canolfan Mileniwm Cymru) is an arts centre located in the Cardiff Bay area of Cardiff, Wales. The site covers a total area of . Phase 1 of the building was opened during the weekend of the 26–28 November 2004 an ...

Theatre and opera

* Varochka and Vava in ''Paradise Moscow'' (spring 2009) * Sister Sophia and Mother Abbess in ''The Sound of Music'' * Donna Elvira and Zerlina in '' Don Giovanni'' * Fiordiligi and Despina in '' Così fan tutte'' * The Queen of the Night and Papagena in ''

The Magic Flute ''The Magic Flute'' (German: , ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a '' Singspiel'', a popular form during the time it was written that in ...

'' * Adina in '' L'Elisir D'Amore'' * Alice Ford in ''

Falstaff Sir John Falstaff is a fictional character who appears in three plays by William Shakespeare and is eulogised in a fourth. His significance as a fully developed character is primarily formed in the plays '' Henry IV, Part 1'' and '' Part 2'', w ...

'' * Musetta in ''

La bohème ''La bohème'' (; ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions '' quadri'', '' tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giusep ...

'' * Ninetta in ''

The Love for Three Oranges ''The Love for Three Oranges'', Op. 33, also known by its French language title ' (russian: Любовь к трём апельсинам, links=no, ''Lyubov' k tryom apel'sinam''), is a satirical opera by Sergei Prokofiev. Its French librett ...

'' * Rosalinda in ''

Die Fledermaus ' (, ''The Flittermouse'' or ''The Bat'', sometimes called ''The Revenge of the Bat'') is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée, which premiered in 1874. Background The original li ...

'' * Clarice and Flamina in '' Il mondo della luna'' * Oriana in '' Amadigi'' * Susan Cooper in '' Love Life'' * Mary Turner in ''

Of Thee I Sing ''Of Thee I Sing'' is a musical with a score by George Gershwin, lyrics by Ira Gershwin and a book by George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind. The musical lampoons American politics; the story concerns John P. Wintergreen, who runs for President o ...

'' * Carlotta in ''

The 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 Pier ...

'' * Bacchae and Hanna Glawari in ''

The Merry Widow ''The Merry Widow'' (german: Die lustige Witwe, links=no ) is an operetta by the Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein, based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's attempt ...

Film

'' as the Confidante and singing Carlotta, over-dubbing for

Minnie Driver Amelia Fiona Jessica "Minnie" Driver (born 31 January 1970) is an English actress. She rose to prominence with her break-out role in 1995's '' Circle of Friends''. She went on to star in a wide range of films including the cult classic '' Grosse ...

(who is a trained singer but has no training in opera). Her name is in the credits.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Preece, Margaret Year of birth missing (living people) Living people English stage actresses English film actresses English operatic sopranos Alumni of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland 21st-century British women opera singers