Praised by The Guardian for her “irrepressible sense of drama and unmissable, urgent musicality”, Australian mezzo-soprano Lotte Betts-Dean is very passionate about curation and programming, with a repertoire that encompasses contemporary music, art song, chamber music, early music, opera, oratorio and non-classical collaborations. Lotte joins the Liberation International Music Festival this year as a guest artists on our new Liberation@Home digital concert series.
A versatile concert artist performing predominantly in Australia and in the UK, recent highlights include her debut with Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Sir Andrew Davis (Stravinsky Perséphone), recitals at Buxton International Festival, St John’s Smith Square, St Martin in the Fields, Barbican Centre’s Sound Unbound Festival, Tête-à-Tête Festival, Wigmore Hall, Cadogan Hall, Melbourne Recital Centre, and the Australian Festival of Chamber Music.
Alongside pianist Joseph Havlat, Lotte won the 2019 Oxford Lieder Young Artist Platform and subsequently gave recitals at the 2019 and 2020 Oxford Lieder Festival. Together they have performed Messiaen’s largest vocal work Harawi at numerous venues and festivals, alongside many other wide-reaching programmes of song and new music. We were able to connect with Lotte recently to get to know her better:
At what age did you decide to become a musician?
I started singing in a children’s choir at age 9, and I think I took it very seriously from then on, really. It was quite a professional group with album recordings, world premieres and international tours, and I loved everything about it - it was quite similar to the choral tradition that many singers in the UK and Europe go through as well. There wasn’t a specific moment where I decided to become a musician, I just always adored music and singing and I was very lucky to be able to develop that passion into a career.
What do you love most about being a singer?
That is a very good and difficult question! I think singing is a very special thing, it feels incredibly personal and connected to the soul, somehow. The communication aspect - the connection with audience - is really important to me. I am quite obsessed by languages, so I love that we have text to engage and play with as well!
Where are you from originally & what brought you to the UK?
I was born in Berlin to Australian parents, and grew up there until moving to Australia at the age of 10. I studied and freelanced in Melbourne until 2014, when I moved to London to start my Masters at the Royal Academy of Music. I’ve been here ever since and the UK really feels like home now!
What is your favourite place on Earth?
After a year of hardly any travel, I think I have to choose a few places! It’s a cliché, but I have a real soft spot for New York, especially Brooklyn. I’d love to live there for a bit, the energy of the city is just incomparable. I also have to mention the glorious Sunshine Coast, north of Brisbane in Queensland, Australia. We lived in a beach town called Noosa for a few years when we first moved to Australia - I still miss that beach!
I also visited the Orkney Islands for the first time recently which left a real impression... I will definitely want to go back there soon.
Who is your favourite composer?
The top spot has to go to J.S Bach - Papa Bach as he’s known in my family. It’s just stunning genius and has a way of hitting you emotionally like nothing else, I never tire of his music. Honorable mentions go to Haydn (the string quartets!), Stravinsky, Ligeti, Messiaen, and Percy Grainger.
What or who inspires you most?
This will sound quite cheesy, but I am very inspired by my father, who is a viola player and composer. I love his music and musical language, as well as his approach to the profession. I feel very lucky to have another musician in my immediate family, his advice is always spot on and I always feel energized after our “shop-talk” chats.
I am also very inspired by a handful of wonderful singers who work with all kinds of repertoire, old and new, opera and concert, art song and chamber music, classical and other - living proof that you can in fact “do it all” when it comes to shaping your career.
If you hadn’t become a musician, what job would you have wanted to do?
To be honest, I never even considered another path, it was always going to be music for me! I did a lot of theatre when I was younger and would have loved to try my hand at acting, which is probably more insane than becoming a musician. I also worked in the hospitality industry for many years in all sorts of roles and I love food and cooking - I think I would have been very happy as a chef or restaurateur!
What is on your bucket list?
Another good question. After the past 14 months, I’d love to do some more traveling. A big coast-to-coast road trip through the US, a trip on the train that runs through central Australia, The Ghan, and a visit to Japan are the first that spring to mind. Career-wise, I’d love to one day help run and curate a festival.
Which historical figure would you choose to have dinner with?
Can I pick two? Oscar Wilde and Jane Austen. Imagine the quick fire wit...
What can we look forward to from you next?
I’m very excited to have a few live concerts happening during summer in some beautiful places around the UK like Lewes, Swaledale, Darlington and Market Drayton, as well as London. I’ve so missed singing to audiences so it’ll be special to feel that magic connection again. I’m also looking forward to performing some Gilbert and Sullivan with Opera Holland Park in August, that’ll be a lot of fun. After that, it’s off to Australia for a few concerts - it’s been far too long between visits.
You can see Lotte’s stunning performance in this year’s festival on Sunday, 13 June in a whimsical solo recital all about fairy tales with pianist Joseph Havlat (available to watch until 13 July).
