About
British Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies
‘Laura Coppinger was suitably haughty and uncompromising in that role, a typical instance of the meddling and indomitable older female relative’
Daily Info
'Peasant pin-up girl Laura Coppinger captures the contradictions of Zerlina’s role with sparkle, finding agency even in abject abasement to her husband'
The Oxford Student
'Coppinger stunned with her confident soprano voice, which stood out even in large chorus numbers'
Laura has recently completed an MMus degree at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, where she held a scholarship and studied with Wilma MacDougall. She was a participant on Dunedin Consort’s Bridging the Gap scheme 2022/23, and enjoyed touring with them in May. A versatile performer, she enjoys singing a variety of repertoire from sixteenth-century lute song (having provided recordings for use at Dean Castle, Ayrshire), opera, and contemporary song, which she frequently performs in recital.
Laura’s previous operatic roles including Second Woman / Dido and Aeneas (Purcell) with Glyndebourne Youth Opera, Ninfa / L’Orfeo (Monteverdi) with Theatron Oneiron, Mabel / The Pirates of Penzance (Gilbert and Sullivan), Angelina / Trial by Jury (Gilbert and Sullivan), Cunegonde / Candide (Bernstein) with Barricade Arts, Baroness Irene / La Vera Costanza (Haydn) with New Chamber Opera and Zerlina / Don Giovanni (Mozart) with Oxford Alternative Orchestra, and most recently Oasis / L’Etoile (Chabrier) at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and Pallas / The Judgement of Paris (Weldon). She was delighted to be singing in the chorus of Longborough Festival Opera’s production of Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore this summer. Laura particularly loves contemporary music, a passion she has had since performing in the premiere of David Bruce’s Nothing as a
member of Glyndebourne Youth Opera. Since then, she has performed in operatic premieres including Toby Young’s Witch (chorus) and Joel Baldwin’s The Beginning of an Idea (Eva Lindberg), Manchester Contemporary Youth Opera’s Duality, a production consisting of six short operatic premieres by young composers (Maria Josefa/The Negative One) and the title role in the premiere of Nicola LeFanu’s Cantata: St Hilda of Whitby. In 2021 she reprised the role of Maria Josefa with MCYO as part of the Tête à Tête festival in London. Last summer she enjoyed working with composer Ellie Cherry to record a new song cycle, exploring the life of renaissance painter Artemisia Gentileschi through her own words.
Outside of the theatre, Laura has performed as a soloist with Newbury Symphony Orchestra, Ovingdean Choral Society, Oxford University Chorus and St Hilda’s College Choir, with repertoire including Vivaldi’s Gloria, Fauré’s Requiem, Haydn’s Nelson Mass, and Schumann’s Paradies und Peri. She has frequently performed in masterclasses, including those with Andreas Scholl and James Conlon, in addition to recitals in the Jacqueline du Pré auditorium and as part of the New Chamber Opera series. In 2022 she was a finalist in the Elgar/Spedding Memorial Lieder Competition (unable to sing in the final due to contracting Covid-19) and achieved 2nd place in the Coro Nuovo Sussex Young Musician competition and the Charles Wood International Song Competition (in addition to winning the Charles Wood Song Prize). She has sung with several choirs at Oxford, including Merton College Chapel Choir and Lincoln College Chapel Choir, and has held both choral and music scholarships at St Hilda’s College.
Laura has been kindly supported by Help Musicians as a Postgraduate Award holder, by The Caird Trust, by the Sutherland Page Trust, and by Broadway Arts Festival.
For an up to date biography, please contact Laura directly via the contact page.