About Emily

Nottingham-born mezzo-soprano Emily Hodkinson is a recent graduate of the Alexander Gibson Opera School at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, where she was a recipient of a Sybil Tutton Opera Award, the Ena Mitchell Scholarship and the Ulrike Wilson Scholarship.

 

The 2024-2025 operatic seasons saw Emily make her Glyndebourne solo debut as Sylviana in The Merry Widow, directed by Cal McCrystal and conducted by John Wilson. It was broadcast on Christmas Day on BBC Four and is available on BBC iPlayer.  She toured Eugene Onegin as Olga, directed by Dominic Dromgoole (ex-Artistic Director of Shakespeare's Globe), for Wild Arts; What Dreams May Come and The Vanishing Forest with English Touring Opera, and cover Romeo in I Capuleti e i Montecchi, also for English Touring Opera. She performed her first Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro with Saffron Opera Group, in which she was described as 'irresistible' by Opera Magazine. She premiered John Joubert’s Jane Eyre in Eleanor Burke's production at Grimeborn Opera, along with Testament for Green Opera.

 

Emily made her debut with The Hallé as the soloist for their 2024 Christmas Concert. Further concert work in 2024-25 included multiple performances as the Angel in Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius, Mahler's Symphony No.4 with Kew Sinfonia, Mendelssohn’s Elijah and Handel’s Messiah. 

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Summer 2026 sees Emily covering the title role in David Alden's production of Giulio Cesare and Olga in Max Webster's production of Eugene Onegin at The Grange Festival. 

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Recent and forthcoming concert work includes Mahler's Symphony No.2 for Winchester Symphony Orchestra, Elgar's Sea Pictures for Farnborough Symphony Orchestra, Elgar's The Music Makers and Bach's Mass in B Minor, both for Nottingham Harmonic Choir.

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She was an Opera Holland Park Young Artist for 2022, singing Madame Larina in the Young Artist performances of Eugene Onegin. In 2023, she premiered Nobody/Somebody for Northern Ireland Opera, covered the roles of Nerone and Ottavia in The Coronation of Poppea with English Touring Opera, and sang in the Glyndebourne chorus for their Summer and Autumn seasons.

 

She was the winner of the Rodney Gibson Early Music Prize at the 2021 Patricia Routledge National English Song Competition, and was a Selected Artist for Making Music UK. She was the winner of the Liz Chant Bursary Competition and the John & Barbara Beaumont Bursary Competition.

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Emily is a keen concert soloist and recital giver, with recent engagements including a concert with the Hallé, Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius for both Nottingham Harmonic Choir and Newbury Choral Society, Elgar's Sea Pictures at the Royal Concert Hall Nottingham in a pre-concert recital before the BBC Philharmonic, Mendelssohn’s Elijah for Nottingham Bach Choir, Rossini's Petite Messe Solonnelle with York Musical Society; Manor Opera’s Gala in the Garden, Beethoven’s Mass in C with London Oriana Choir, Bach's Cantata's with Glasgow Bach Cantata Project, Elgar’s Sea Pictures with Watford Youth Sinfonia and Elgar’s The Music Makers with Nottingham Festival Chorus.​

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Emily’s operatic roles include Sylviana The Merry Widow (Glyndebourne), Cherubino Le nozze di Figaro (Saffron Opera), Romeo I Capuleti e i Montecchi (English Touring Opera), Nerone and Ottavia L’incoronazione di Poppea (English Touring Opera) Olga and Madame Larina Eugene Onegin (Wild Arts & Opera Holland Park Young Artist), Female Politican Nobody/Somebody (Northern Ireland Opera), Nancy Albert Herring (New Palace Opera), Minskwoman Flight, Jenny Die Dreigroschenoper (Royal Conservatoire of Scotland), Spirit Dido & Aeneas (Ryedale Festival); Wellgunde Das Rheingold (Edinburgh Players Opera Group); Siegrune Die Walküre (Weekend Opera Projects); Sara Tobias and the Angel (Streetwise Opera); Nancy Albert Herring and Female Chorus The Rape of Lucretia (Aspect Opera), Masha Paradise Moscow, La tasse Chinoise and L’écureuil L’enfant et les Sortilèges, and Sorceress Dido & Aeneas (University of York).

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Chorus work includes the Glyndebourne Chorus, Britten's Peter Grimes at Opera North, Wagner’s Der fliegende Holländer at the 2022 Grange Park Festival, Wagner’s Götterdämmerung at the 2019 Edinburgh International Festival, and Purcell’s Dido & Aeneas at the 2019 Ryedale Festival.

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Emily is an experienced consort and choral singer, having sung with groups such as Britten Sinfonia Voices, the Dunedin Consort, the Carice Singers and Echo. She was a Fellow of the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain, and a member of Genesis Sixteen, The Sixteen’s prestigious training programme led by Harry Christophers and Eamonn Dougan. In 2018 she had the honour of being the first Female Alto to sing with the Men and Boys Choir at Southwell Minster, a landmark moment in the Minsters 900+ year history.

 

Emily is represented by Musichall for Opera and Classical representation and  Berrisford Hills Associates for Acting representation.