Edinburgh singer wins BBC Cardiff Singer of the World

AN EDINBURGH singer has become the first British winner of BBC Cardiff Singer of the World.

Catriona Morison, 31, was the judge’s wildcard for the final on Sunday,

“I’m over the moon. I don’t know how to put it into words. It’s been a whirlwind of a week and I don’t know what to say,” the mezzo-soprano said.

She was awarded £15,000 and the Cardiff trophy for her song choice of Rossini, Strauss, Purcell and Ravel.

She also jointly won a the Song Prize with Ariunbaatar Ganbaatar.

Catriona went to the Royal High School in Edinburgh before studying at Berlin University of the Arts and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow.

She is a Samling Artist and was a member of the Salzburg Festival’s Young Singers Project and the Thuringian Opera Studio.

She is an ensemble member of Wuppertal Opera, and has sung roles at the Deutsches Nationaltheater Weimar, Theater Erfurt and Theater Nordhausen.

David Jackson, the competition’s artistic director, said: ‘It’s been an amazing week of great singing, but what a thrilling finale! And to top it all, we have our first British winner!’