Cathy Bell - Mezzo-Soprano

Cathy Bell studied English and Medieval Literature at Cambridge, and undertook postgraduate vocal studies at Birmingham Conservatoire. She is a former CREAR Scholar and was a member of Handel House Talent 2014-15. Baroque music continues to be a specialism, with recent solo debuts at the Valletta International Baroque Festival as Venus (Pepusch Venus and Adonis); at the Barbican as Second Witch (Dido and Aeneas) with the Academy of Ancient Music; and at the Nordland Music Festival with Barokksolistene Norway.
Cathy particularly enjoys her work as an oratorio soloist. She has performed most of the standard repertoire for the alto voice, at venues including the Royal Festival Hall, Cadogan Hall, St John's Smith Square, Southwell Minster, Wells Cathedral, Bath Abbey, Birmingham Symphony Hall, Worcester Cathedral, and St Magnus Cathedral Orkney. Recent highlights include Copland In the Beginning with Lewisham Choral Society; Rachmaninoff Vespers with several groups including Britten Sinfonia and Sonoro; Bach Mass in B minor with Cantemus and Royal Leamington Spa Bach Choir; and Bach St John Passion with the Whitehall Choir. As a mezzo-contralto, Cathy enjoys singing Handel’s ever-popular Messiah in venues across the UK, but she also loves exploring more esoteric repertoire, and has made a particular specialism of neglected works from the Italian baroque such as Alessandro Scarlatti’s Salve Regina and Vivaldi’s Introduzione e Gloria RV 588, Magnificat and Dixit Dominus.
Opera roles include Carmen for Barefoot Opera; Russian Nanny (Death in Venice) for Garsington; Arsamene (Handel Xerxes) for Hampstead Garden Opera; and Third Lady/Third Boy (Die Zauberflöte) for Diva Opera and the Palestine Mozart Festival. Chorus contracts include Scottish Opera, Garsington, Grange Park, Bergen Nasjonale Opera and the festivals in Aix-en-Provence and Beijing. Cathy has a strong commitment to contemporary music and has taken principal roles in new operas at the Tête à Tête and Grimeborn festivals, and worked on the development of new pieces for Opera North and WNO MAX.
Cathy also enjoys ensemble singing, working regularly with groups including the BBC Singers, Sonoro, Polyphony and EXAUDI, and she runs a busy teaching practice. She lives in London with her husband, the baritone Jon Stainsby, and their two young daughters.