About Nancy
British mezzo-soprano Nancy Holt attended the National Opera Studio 2024/25, having recently graduated from the Opera Course at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She is an Oxford International Song Festival Young Artist for 2024/25, Britten Pears Young Artist 2025/26, an Opera Prelude Young Artist 2026 and an Edinburgh International Festival Rising Star of Voice 2025. A recipient of the 2024/25 Musicians’ Company Salomon Seelig Award, Nancy gave a winner’s recital at Wigmore Hall in April. She won Second prize at The Ashburnham English Song Awards 2025.
This autumn, she made her debut at The Royal Ballet and Opera in the role of Guest Singer in Like Water for Chocolate and is covering the role of Hebe in HMS Pinafore at English National Opera. She performed a recital ‘Summer Nights’ at Oxford International Song Festival 2025 in October.
Nancy won the Simon Sandbach Award for her time at Garsington Opera as an Alvarez Young Artist 2024, covering the role of Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and playing the role of Maenad 2 in Rameau’s Platée. She also joined IF Opera as Ensemble for their 2024 season, covering the role of Prince Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus.
“Her extraordinary performance turned a secondary role into something unforgettable.”
- Bachtrack
During her time at NOS, Nancy performed scenes as Idamante in Idomeneo at WNO, Hänsel in Hänsel und Gretel and Dorabella in Così fan tutte at Scottish Opera and Nancy in Albert Herring and Lucretia in The Rape of Lucretia at Opera North.
Other highlights include being an Associate Artist for Nevill Holt Opera, playing the role of Tisbe in La Cenerentola, participating in the Clonter Autumn Opera Gala 2023, and performing the role of Lola in Cavalleria Rusticana with the Cambridge Philharmonic Orchestra. Nancy has also previously appeared with British Youth Opera, winning the Basil A Turner Award for her performance of Mistress Quickly in Vaughan Williams’ Sir John in Love.
Whilst at Guildhall, Nancy’s roles included Mrs. Patrick De Rocher in Heggie’s Dead Man Walking, Jean de Moncerf in Massenet’s Le Portrait de Manon, and Lisa in Rota’s I due timidi. She won the Paul Hamburger Prize for Voice at Graham Johnson’s GSMD Song Guild.
Nancy is the 2024/25 recipient of The Musicians' Company Saloman Seelig Award, a Help Musicians Sybil Tutton Opera Award holder and a Countess of Munster Trust Award winner. She studies with John Evans. Nancy is also a trained dancer, having studied ballet, modern, and tap dance for over ten years.