Lizzie Holmes, soprano & founder of DEBUT
British soprano Lizzie Holmes is a versatile and dynamic singing actor and keen spokesperson for classical music. She has performed across the UK’s top concert halls and on the West End in the Olivier Award nominated La Bohème and The Phantom of the Opera. Recognised for her ‘luminous singing and sensitive acting’ (The Spectator), Lizzie’s operatic roles include Despina, Musetta, Queen of the Night, Cunegonde and Euridice with companies including Grange Park Opera, Longborough Festival Opera and Wexford Festival Opera. Recently Lizzie made her Royal Opera House Crush Room recital debut and was headline soloist with Raymond Gubbay’s Johann Strauss Gala. A graduate of the Royal College of Music, Lizzie has given recitals at the Royal Albert Hall, St Martin-in-the-Fields and joined the Bands of the Household Division as soprano soloist at Cadogan Hall. Lizzie has also recorded for Military Wives (Lionsgate) and filmed for The Great (Channel 4) and The Crown (Netflix).
Lizzie founded DEBUT in 2015 and returns to the RCM as Guest Lecturer on Creative Enterprise, she has subsequently been interviewed by Classical Music Magazine, BBC Radio 3’s In Tune and Opera Now. In 2021 she was awarded a Genesis Foundation Kickstart grant for DEBUT’s first artist development programme, Horizon Project 2022.
About DEBUT
DEBUT throws open the doors to classical music, showcasing exceptionally talented musicians in unique and unforgettable venues, presented with spontaneity and warmth. Since launching in 2015, we’ve showcased over 180 singers and instrumentalists and reached audiences of all ages from around the world. In addition to our flagship classical music experience DEBUT at Shoreditch Treehouse (No.1 Airbnb Music Experience Globally 2018) we have enjoyed sharing our unique and friendly approach to concerts in London at the Royal Opera House, Cutty Sark, Brunel Museum’s Thames Tunnel Shaft, Old Operating Theatre, Old Bayham Abbey with Lamberhurst Music Festival and in Dorset at Poole’s Lighthouse, Chettle House and Russell-Coates Museum.
In 2021 we embarked on a new project, DEBUT/Drag bringing together the worlds of opera and drag, with an Artists’ Residency at The Lighthouse, Poole. We are particularly passionate about showcasing emerging musicians and helping to develop their unique voice as professional artists, cultivating a positive classical music community and sharing classical music with new audiences. 2022 sees us return to regular concerts at Shoreditch Treehouse and Thames Tunnel Shaft at Brunel Museum and the launch of Know the Show (interactive singing workshops) and our artist development programme, Horizon Project.
Every week we share new recordings from our Brunel Museum and Shoreditch Treehouse concerts, as well as specially recorded performances. Here’s the latest from our DEBUT at Shoredtich Treehouse series, featuring pianists Rieko Makita, Gamal Khamis and Sam Peña, singers Meriel Cunningham and Lizzie Holmes and clarinettist Guillermo Ramasasa.