QUEEN OF THE NIGHT

Rachel Duckett is a multiple prize winning soprano of Jamaican and British descent from London praised as a “rising star” (Ally Dunavant, Classic FM) with a “crystalline voice” (José Nogueira, Pro Opera) and “impressive technique” (Andrew Clements, The Guardian).

 

In 2022 she garnered recognition winning several prizes including: the “Sir Willard White Grand Prize Trophy” (The Voice of Black Opera), the “Grand Prize” and the “Audience Prize” of the Grand Prix de la Voix du Centre d’Art Lyrique de la Méditerranée, the “Christiane Eda-Pierre, Amis des Voix des Outre-Mer” prize (Voix des Outre-mers), and several awards from the Gordes International Song Competition.

 

Recent career highlights include her 2024 solo debut at the Royal Albert Hall for Classic FM’s Classical Anthems concert where she sang several well loved pieces including the famous Queen of the Night aria. She has also embodied the soprano characters of Peter Brathwaite’s ground-breaking project Insurrection: A Work in Progress at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, appeared as a guest performer at the Opéra Paris Bastille for the Concours Voix des Outre-Mers Finale, and created the Fire role written specifically for her voice in the world premier of Babel (Monterisi/Thomas) at Opéra Nice Côte d’Azur.

 

Prized for her stratospheric coloratura faculty Rachel has portrayed Lakmé Lakmé, Olympia Tales of Hoffmann, Queen of the Night Die Zauberflöte, La Fée Cendrillon (P. Viardot), Adele Die Fledermaus, as well as more lyrical roles such as Nanetta Falstaff, Elisetta Il Matrimonio Segreto and Serpina La Serva Padrona, while also interpreting a range of contemporary roles such as Beketaten Akhnaten (Phillip Glass), Hyacinth Women of the Windrush (Dr Shirley J. Thompson), Eve’s Image States of Innocence (Ed Hughes) and Scheherazade Sindbad (Howard Moody). 

 

Rachel’s own composition portfolio includes a string quartet based on Moliere’s The Misanthrope, a 70th Anniversary commemorative piece, 1948 Windrush: Get Your Coat, A Lot Water and a rapidly evolving original music theatre piece, Iroko’s Song, based on the life events of 18th century, Franco-Guadeloupean figures, Solitude La Mulâtresse, and the composer, Chevalier de Saint-Georges.

 

Aside from performing, Rachel is a Franco-British Council Young Leader of the 2025 cohort and the founder of the Holborn Community Orchestra in London, a testament to her dedication to fostering music making across a range of platforms and borders.

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