Catriona Morison and Macolm Martineau

St Andrews Hall, Crieff, January 22

Strathearn Music Society’s latest concert ranks as one of its biggest coups to date.

The first and as yet only British winner of the BBC’S biennial Cardiff Singer of the World Competition, Scottish mezzosoprano Catriona Morison is currently one of opera’s hottest tickets.

Born in Edinburgh in 1986, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland honorary professorship recipient grew up in the city’s Barnton district, where she played violin and sang in the Waverley Singers youth choir.

Morison went on to study music at Glasgow’s Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and also spent a year at Berlin University of the Arts.

Her fledgling singing career started in a Weimar opera studio, before she joined the Oper Wuppertal company in 2016 as an ensemble member and later landed a principal singing role.

A triumph in the main section of the 2017 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition made Catriona a household name in the UK, with a joint success in the song prize category providing added kudos. That same year, she was awarded her RCS honorary professorship, and also became a member of the BBC New Generation Artists talent platform.

Morison’s worked with such operatic luminaries as conductors Julia Jones, David Parry and Stefan Solyom, plus leading directors Antony Mcdonald, Immo Karaman, Joe-hill Gibbons and Christopher Alden.

Her most recent achievements include her BBC Proms debut last year, which saw her tackle Elgar’s Sea Pictures alongside the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, as well as giving the world premiere of Errollyn Wallen’s This Frame Is Part Of The Painting.

Other notable performances include Ravel’s Shéhérazade with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra,

Mahler’s Rückert Lieder with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and the Sinfonieorchester Wuppertal. Her highlights in the 2019/20 season include Sea Pictures with Norway’s Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra and a selection of French composer Henri Duparc’s orchestral songs with the Wuppertal Symphony.

Catriona will be joined in Crieff by Scottish pianist Malcolm Martineau.

Malcolm’s previous recordings have included collaborations with Welsh operatic legend Bryn Terfel, Londonborn baritone Simon Keenlyside, bigselling clarinetist Emma Johnson and a host of other leading classical vocalists including Angela Gheorghiu, Della Jones, Yvonne Kenny, Sarah Walker, Magdalena Kožená and the late Tom Krause.

Wednesday’s concert starts at 7.30pm, with tickets £12 or £3 for students. It’s free for under-18s.

Catriona Morison was named BBC Cardiff Singer of the World in 2017.