Scottish mezzo soprano, Taylor Wilson, studied voice at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. She then read modern languages at Strathclyde University (French, German, Italian) and, with support from the Sir James Caird Travelling Scholarship, she pursued postgraduate studies in opera at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester.
Operatic roles include Noble Orphan (Rosenkavalier, Strauss) and Bird Seller (Manon, Massenet) with Scottish Opera; Carmen (Carmen, Bizet); Siebel (Damnation de Faust, Gounod) and Flora (La Traviata, Verdi) with Edinburgh Grand Opera; Bradamante (Alcina, Handel), Cherubino (le Nozze di Figaro, Mozart), Mother (Noyes Fludde, Britten) and Orfeo (Orfeo ed Euridice, Gluck). Ensemble work includes The Salzburg Easter Festival in productions of Falstaff and Simone Boccanegra (Verdi) with the Berlin Philharmonic, conducted by Claudio Abbado. Apart from her operatic work, she has also explored avant-garde music and drama in Berlin and music theatre in Hamburg (for information on operatic contemporary roles, see Contemporary).
Taylor performs regularly in recital, where solo engagements include a Dutch radio performance in Holland and recitals in Switzerland, Los Angeles, Denmark and Hong Kong. Concert solo appearances include repertoire from the early oratorios of JS Bach and Handel, through to the works of Mahler, Rossini and Elgar, which she has performed with the Scottish Opera Connect Orchestra, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, NDR Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and Scottish National Orchestra.
Off the concert platform, Taylor has made several recordings of music which has been especially written for her by composers John Rose, John McLeod OBE and Tim Benjamin. She has made several CD recordings with Scottish Voices (she is a founder member of this female vocal ensemble) and has appeared on several soundtracks for both film and television, (featuring on the sound track of a Scottish-based film, Blinded, by composer Malcolm Lindsay, which was screened at the Edinburgh and Cannes Film Festivals).
Taylor has performed many times in Hong Kong and given masterclasses at the Academy of Performing Arts. She has enjoyed touring with Scottish Opera Education, which has taken her to Hong Kong and New Zealand (the tour finishing at the Royal Opera House). As a Crear scholar, she recently enjoyed having the opportunity to work with Malcolm Martineau and musicologist, Matteo dalle Fratte.
