Virginia Kerr

Virginia Kerr is a prominent Irish soprano who appears frequently in concerts, opera, oratorio and recitals.

She has sung with many of the world's leading orchestras including the London Philharmonic, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Halle and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestras. Her operatic and concert performances have also taken her to Far East, Russia and North and South America.

At the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden she has sung the roles of Jennifer in "The Midsummer Marriage", Frau in "Erwartung", Ortlinde in "Die Walküre", Guinivere in "Gawain". She has also sung with Opera Theatre Company, Opera Ireland, Leipzig Opera, Scottish Opera, Opera North, Opera de Nantes and the Glyndebourne Festival Opera. She has also sung with the Glyndebourne Festival Opera at the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall.

Virginia Kerr is currently a Professor of Singing in the Vocal Faculty of the Royal Irish Academy of Music.

Early life

Virginia Kerr was born into a horseracing family in County Meath in Ireland and continues to live there. She was education by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny at the well known Mount Sackville School in Castleknock, Dublin. It was here that Kerr had her first singing teacher, Sister Peter Cronin. Virginia then moved to the Royal Irish Academy of Music and continued her studies with the late Michael O'Higgins. Kerr is now a Professor of Singing in the Vocal Faculty at the Royal Irish Academy of Music. Kerr then won the Player/Wills Bursary at Dublin's Feis Ceoil. This took her to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London where she studied with Rudolf Piernay.

Return to Ireland

At Dublin's Institute of Adult Education in December 1980 Kerr made her recital debut in Ireland. The following year (1981) Kerr made her professional operatic debut as The Countess in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro at the Theatre Royal, Wexford. This was a production by Young Irish Artists, a company formed by Kerr and the baritone Joseph Brown. In 1982 Kerr sang the role of Fiordiligi in Mozart's Così fan tutte with the Company.

Recordings/Discography

"My Heart and I," Virginia Kerr - Her solo CD

"Ultima Rerum," Gerard Victory

"Requiem/The Veiled Prophet of Khorassan," Sir Charles de Villiers Stanford
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External links

* [http://www.virginiakerr.ie Official web site of Virginia Kerr]
* [http://www.rte.ie RTE]
* [http://www.opera.ie Opera Theatre Company]
* [http://www.operaireland.com Opera Ireland]
* [http://www.riam.ie Royal Irish Academy of Music]