Felicity Lott

Dame Felicity Ann Emwhyla Lott (8 May 1947 – 15 May 2026) was an English soprano, among the leading voices in operas by Mozart and Richard Strauss and operettas by Jacques Offenbach. Her first signature role was the Countess in Capriccio, the last opera by Strauss, on the Glyndebourne Festival's tour in 1976. She appeared with the company in every season until 1990, also in 20th-century operas: as Helena in Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream, Anne in Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress and Elle in Poulenc's La Voix humaine. She portrayed the Countess in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, including for her first performance on stage in the United States at the Lyric Opera of Chicago in 1987, and the title role of Offenbach's La belle Hélène at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. She portrayed the Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier by Strauss at the Metropolitan Opera in 1990 and in an iconic 1994 performance at the Vienna State Opera that was recorded. Lott had a special love for French mélodies, German lieder, and the English art song repertoire. She supported music organisations as a member, vice-president and patron. An obituary in The Guardian described her "mellifluous tone with just a hint of metal to give it that lustrous gleam, the effortlessly floated high notes, pin-sharp diction and captivating stage presence". She received several honorary doctorates and lifetime achievement awards.