Felicity Lott
Born: May 8, 1947;
Died: May 15, 2026
Dame Felicity Lott, who has died of lung cancer aged 79, possessed a majestic singing voice, a gracious stage manner and a radiant smile that endeared her to audiences the world over. While she specialised in French music, she became recognised in opera houses for her superb interpretations of the roles by Richard Strauss and Mozart. In 1986 she sang Mozart’s Laudate Dominum at the wedding of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Sarah Ferguson in Westminster Abbey. Throughout her career Lott managed her voice with utmost care and seldom ventured to sing the heavier Verdi or Wagner roles.
Lott came to Scotland on many occasions – she performed Poulenc’s opera La Voix Humaine with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and was heard in over a dozen concerts at the Edinburgh Festival and on many occasions with the RSNO.
She first came to the Festival in 1981 to sing a Bruckner Te Deum with the SNO under Alexander Gibson and in 1984 she gave an exciting account of Britten’s Les Illuminations with the SNO under Neeme Jarvi. There followed several morning recitals and a tremendous account of Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony with Janet Baker in 1986 under Simon Rattle. In 1992 Lott sang “an unforgettable” account of Richard Strauss’ Four Last Songs , conducted by Klaus Tennstedt.
Over several years, Charles Mackerras conducted the Scottish Chamber Orchestra in concert performances of the Mozart operas. At the 1995 Festival he conducted a handpicked cast for a performance of Don Giovanni with Lott (“at her most lyrical and eloquent”) singing Donna Elvira.
She recorded with the RSNO and their disc of the Four Last Songs was widely praised. The RSNO has commented on her death that the recording is “considered by many to be the greatest ever made. A regular performer with the orchestra, Lott was loved by audiences throughout Scotland.”
Read more
‘Kind and loyal’ accountant and cricketer who played for Scotland dies | The Herald
'Breathtaking' fighter known as The Golden Boy of Scottish Boxing dies | The Herald
Glaswegian who ‘humanised’ financial services during huge shake-up | The Herald
In 2001 Lott and her great friend Ann Murray gave a recital in the Glasgow Concert Hall. The Herald wrote, “Two such ravishing and consummate songbirds. And Felicity Lott was radiant as ever, her gorgeous golden voice infusing every song with grace and charm.”
Felicity Ann Emwhyla Lott was born in Cheltenham and throughout her career she was affectionately known as Flott – to very close friends she was ‘Flotty’. She was the elder daughter of John Lott and Iris (née Williams), who ran an accountancy practice. The family were musical and Lott learnt the piano and sang in Gilbert and Sullivan operas. She also became a serious student of the French language and was keen to become an interpreter, reading French at London University then doing a degree in French at Grenoble University where she took singing lessons.
Back in London she studied at the Royal Academy of Music winning the principal’s prize. There she met the pianist Graham Johnson and she became a member of his Songmakers’ Almanac. Together they were to give many Lieder and French song recitals – often at the Edinburgh Festival.
She had auditioned for the Glyndebourne chorus on three occasions to be turned down each time. Then, in 1976, she was offered the role of Countess in Capriccio for their autumn tour and the following year she was cast in the leading role of Anne in Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress. Lott became a regular at the Sussex house – she lived close by and for 20 years she lit up the Sussex opera house with superb accounts of the Countess in Figaro, Elvira in Don Giovanni, Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier and Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The sheer spread of the roles demonstrates her vocal flexibility.
Over the four decades of her international career, Lott worked with all the major orchestras, musicians and opera houses. The leading conductors included Georg Solti, Bernard Haitink, Colin Davis, Carlos Kleiber and André Previn.
In London she made her debut at the English National Opera in 1975 as Pamina in The Magic Flute. The following year she was first heard at the Royal Opera in the world premiere of Henze’s We Come to the River. She returned often to the Royal Opera and is fondly remembered for the thrilling Marschallin she sang in the new John Shlesinger production of Der Rosenkavalier in 1984 under Solti. The famous exit after the final trio Lott turned and delivered the ‘Ja. Ja’ with a poignant authority.
Throughout her career Lott (who was made a Dame in 1996) was admired by colleagues and audiences. At one festival she was labelled ‘Edinburgh’s Darling’: her exceptional vocal technique, modesty and sheer charm made her universally popular. She did confess to one guilty pleasure. She much enjoyed, “playing the Beach Boys very loudly in the car, singing along and driving too fast.”
Flott married Robin Golding in 1973. The marriage was dissolved and in 1984 she married the actor Gabriel Woolf. He and their daughter Emily survive her.
ALASDAIR STEVEN
At The Herald, we carry obituaries of notable people from the worlds of business, politics, arts and sport but sometimes we miss people who have led extraordinary lives. That's where you come in. If you know someone who deserves an obituary, please consider telling us about their lives. Contact garry.scott@heraldandtimes.co.uk
