About

Charlotte Baker is a soprano originally from Berkshire, studying for an advanced PGDip at the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) under the tutelage of Mary Plazas. Her studies this year are generously supported by the Dame Eva Turner Award, the Riga Heesom Award and the Hargreaves and Ball Scholarship, and Charlotte is grateful for past support from the D'Oyly Carte Award and the Waverley fund. Charlotte is the 2024 winner of The Joyce and Michael Kennedy Award for the singing of Strauss.

Charlotte was a 2024 Young Artist for Buxton International Festival, appearing as chorus in Verdi’s Ernani (working with director Jamie Manton, movement director Corina Wuersch  and conductor Adrian Kelly), and Carlos Acosta’s On Before.

Roles at RNCM include Princesse Laoula (Chabrier’s L’étoile 2024, Martin Pickard and Mark Burns), Lucilla (Rossini’s La Scala di Seta 2024, Wynne Davies and Robert Chevara), and Kupava (Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Snow Maiden 2023, Matthew Kofi-Waldren and Jack Furness). Scenes include Donna Elvira (Mozart’s Don Giovanni 2024), Blanche (Previn’s A Streetcar Named Desire 2023), Miss Page (Vaughan Williams’ Sir John in Love 2022), and Miss Pinkerton (Menotti’s The Old Maid and the Thief 2021). She was also part of the chorus for Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites 2019 (Orpha Phelan and Andrew Greenwood). Charlotte is excited to be performing the role of Mrs Julian in RNCM’s upcoming production of Britten’s Owen Wingrave.

Having previously studied with Mary Plazas and Louise Winter before graduating with an MMus with Distinction and a BMus with First Class Honours respectively, Charlotte has sung in masterclasses with people including Dame Anne Murray, Jennifer Larmore and Elaine Kidd. She was chosen to take part in Opera North workshop residencies in Leeds, working with directors Olivia Fuchs and Matthew Eberhardt, and conductors Laurence Cummings and James Holmes.

She is an accomplished ensemble singer and held a place in the National Youth Choir of Great Britain, having performed with the main choir and the National Youth Chamber Choir 2016-2019, working with people including John Rutter and Sakari Oramo . She was also a member of the RNCM Chamber Choir working with Mark Elder at Bridgewater Hall.

Charlotte is passionate about outreach work and using music as a connection tool for the community, and in 2022 founded a new initiative, The Invisible Thread Project, which aims to bring people who may be socially isolated together through the format of informal meet up concerts. The first mini series was a big success, raising donations for the charity Manchester Cares, and she looks forward to exploring this avenue more in the future.

Charlotte is also aware of how just how important formative years are, and was very lucky to have experiences in Berkshire like winning awards at the Berkshire Young Singer of the Year competition, singing the title role in Gilbert and Sullivan’s Iolanthe and being principal flautist of the Berkshire Youth Symphony Orchestra. She is passionate about creating similar opportunities for the next generation, and Charlotte has enjoyed building her teaching experience working for Rochdale Music Service from 2022-2024, teaching singing, flute and beginner piano alongside running regular choirs. She has a portfolio of private pupils whom she sees weekly, and more information on this can be found on the Teaching and Community page.

When not singing or teaching, Charlotte loves escaping to the countryside for walks, meditating with her friends at their Buddhist centre, and listening to Frank Sinatra or Stevie Wonder!