Bio

Rachel McLean is a Scottish soprano and a Young Artist at the National Opera Studio. A Samling Artist, she graduated in 2023 with a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland under Wilma MacDougall and currently studies with Rachel Nicholls.

Operatic roles include Contessa Almaviva Le nozze di Figaro, Donna Anna Don Giovanni, and Pamina Die Zauberflöte (all Lyric Opera Studio Weimar). Scenes at the National Opera Studio include Governess The Turn of the Screw, Mrs Julian Owen Wingrave, Drusilla L’incoronazione di Poppea, Mistress Ford The Merry Wives of Windsor, Elvira Ernani, and Maria Stuarda Maria Stuarda. Other scene work includes Fiordiligi Così fan tutte, Arabella Arabella, Ilia and Elettra Idomeneo, Rosalinde Die Fledermaus, Vitellia La clemenza di Tito, and Anne Trulove The Rake’s Progress.

Concert highlights include soprano soloist in Haydn Nelson Mass (Garleton Singers), Vivaldi Gloria (RCS Chorus and Orchestra), and Jenkins The Armed Man (National Youth Choir of Scotland).

Future engagements include covering Donna Anna Don Giovanni (Da Ponte Opera Festival) and Contessa Almaviva Le nozze di Figaro (Scottish Opera).

Rachel’s MMus studies were supported by the ABRSM, and she is a Sybil Tutton Opera Award holder.

Rachel’s time at the Studio is supported by the Paschal Allen Award.

Bio

Scottish soprano Rachel McLean is a Samling Artist who graduated in 2023 with a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland under Wilma MacDougall. She previously graduated with a First Class Honours Bachelor of Music degree under Margaret Izatt.

Rachel’s operatic roles include Donna Anna Don Giovanni (Lyric Opera Studio Weimar), Youka Chabrier’s L’Étoile (RCS Opera), and Pamina Die Zauberflöte (Lyric Opera Studio Weimar). In spring 2024, she was cast to cover Donna Anna and perform in the chorus for Hurn Court Opera’s production of Don Giovanni.

Her operatic scenes experience includes roles such as Fiordiligi Così fan tutte, Arabella Arabella, Ilia Idomeneo, Rosalinde Die Fledermaus, Elettra Idomeneo, Vitellia La clemenza di Tito, and Anne Trulove The Rake’s Progress.

Concert highlights include performing Die Schöne Müllerin in an International Women’s Day concert with the RCS, soprano soloist in Haydn’s Nelson Mass with the Garleton Singers, Vivaldi’s Gloria with the RCS Chorus and Orchestra, and Jenkins’ The Armed Man with the National Youth Choir of Scotland.

Future engagements include Summer Airs: An Evening of Soprano Duets at Wellington Church, Discovering Degas with Kickstart Opera, and Countess Almaviva Le nozze di Figaro with Lyric Opera Studio Weimar.

Rachel’s MMus studies were generously supported by the ABRSM.

Updated June 2024. This biography should not be reproduced without asking permission from the National Opera Studio.