Anna was born in Cornwall and studied at the Royal Northern College of Music where her studies were supported by the Peter Moores Foundation.
Anna made her US operatic debut as Cesare in Guilio Cesare for the Seattle Opera in 2007, whilst operatic engagements in Europe include the title role in Orfeo ed Euridice with Opera National du Rhin, Roswita in Heloise et Abelard with Opera National du Rhin and the Chatelet, Paris, Olga in Eugene Onegin at Théâtre de Caen, Mrs McLean in Susannah and Mrs Nolan in The Medium at the Wexford Festival and Cesare in Giulio Cesare for Opera Ireland.
In Britain, Anna’s roles include Ursula in Beatrice and Benedict, Magdalena in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Suzuki in Madame Butterfly, Page in Salome and Maddalena in Rigoletto for Welsh National Opera. For English National Opera she has sung Amastris in Xerxes, Anna in The Trojans at Carthage, Maddalena in Rigoletto and Dresser, Schoolboy, Waiter in Lulu (also recorded for Chandos). For Glyndebourne Festival Opera she has sung Cesare in Giulio Cesare and she sang the role of the Owl in the world premiere of Richard Ayre’s The Cricket Recovers at the Almeida and Aldeburgh Festivals and at Bregenz. She has also sung in concert performances of many operas including Hecube in Berlioz’s Les Troyens with the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Colin Davis at the BBC Proms, 1st Maid in Strauss’s Elektra at the Edinburgh International Festival, Merope in Oedipe and Puck in Weber’s Oberon with Scottish Opera and Margret in concert performances of Wozzeck with the Philharmonia Orchestra in Paris and the Royal Festival Hall in London.
Her extensive concert experience reflects her interest in both baroque and modern works. She has sung in concert performances of Handel’s Aci, Galatea et Polifemo and Unulfo in Handel’s Rodelinda with Paul McCreesh and the Gabrieli Consort, and at the Edinburgh International Festivalshe has sung Dardano in Amadigi conducted by Rinaldo Alessandrini. Anna has performed Berio’s Folksongs in Antwerp, Tippett’s A Child of our Time with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Gerard Schwarz, Britten’s Spring Symphony with theRoyal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra at the Chester International Festival and De Falla’s Three Cornered Hat with Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra.
Anna has performed Beethoven’s Symphony No 9 with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Vladimir Ashkenazy, the Hallé Orchestra conducted by Mark Elder, the Orchestre de Tours conducted by Jean-Yves Ossonce and with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. Other repertoire includes Berlioz’s Les nuits d’ été with the Sudwestfunk Orchestra in Baden-Baden, Elgar’s Sea Pictures with the RLPO, Mahler’s Das Klagende Lied with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, Messiah with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra conducted by Gerard Schwarz, and with the Northern Sinfonia, Serenade to Music with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Verdi’s Requiem with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
Recordings include Francis Grier’s Sequence for the Ascension and The Long and the Short of It for the animation series on Channel 4 television.
This season engagements include Schwertleite in Die Walküre for Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Margret in concert performances of Wozzeck with the Philharmonia Orchestra, conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen in Dortmund, San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York, Erda in Wagner’s Das Rheingold and Siegfried and Schwertliete in Die Walküre for Longborough Festival Opera.