# Morag McLaren

Morag McLaren (born 1957) is a Scottish soprano singer, director and vocal coach. She has performed in opera, musicals, concerts, one woman shows and cabaret acts.

## Early life and education

McLaren was born in Edinburgh and attended The Mary Erskine School. She graduated with a Bachelor of Education in Music at Lancaster University and trained as an opera singer at the Royal Northern College of Music, where she studied singing with Frederic Cox. She completed an MA degree with distinction in Performance Health and Personal Development at London College of Music.

## Performing career

McLaren played principal roles in the West End (Carlotta in Phantom of the Opera, in 1988–1989, and Mrs Segstrom in A Little Night Music with The Royal National Theatre in 1995–96). She also had principal roles with Scottish Opera (Lucy in Threepenny Opera in 1990) and Welsh National Opera (The Mother, the Dew Fairy and the Witch in Hansel and Gretel in 1990–1991).
She has also performed in cabaret acts alone and as part of Any Tessitura, a group comprising McLaren, David Bexon and Marion McCullogh and accompanist Tony Stenson, Iwan Llewelyn-Jones or Kelvin Thompson. McLaren has appeared at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with a tribute to American librettist and lyricist Dorothy Fields titled Hey Big Spender, which she later performed in London. She was a founding member of Impropera, an opera improv group.

## Selected stage performances

| Year | Opera, Musical, etc | Composer | Theatre | Role | Director / Company |
| 1981 | Tom Jones | Edward German | Holmfirth Civic Hall, West Yorkshire | Sophia | Holmfirth Choral Society |
| 1986 | Pagliacci | Ruggero Leoncavallo | Darlington, County Durham | Nedda | Opera Nova |
| 1987 | Le astuzie femminili | Domenico Cimarosa | Osterley Park Manor, west London | Bellina | Opera Italiana |
| 1988 | The Phantom of the Opera | Andrew Lloyd Webber | Her Majesty's Theatre, London | Carlotta | |
| 1990 | Threepenny Opera | Bertolt Brecht | Tramway Theatre, Glasgow; Macrobert Arts Centre, Stirling; Eden Court Theatre, Inverness; Grand Theatre, Blackpool, and other UK locations | Lucy Brown | Scottish Opera |
| 1990-1991 | Hansel and Gretel | Engelbert Humperdinck | 24 venues in Wales and England, including the Sherman Theatre, Cardiff; Taliesin, Swansea; Maesteg Town Hall; Theatr Clwyd, Mold; Coliseum Theatre (Aberdare); Lyric Theatre (Hammersmith) | Witch, Mother and Dew Fairy | Welsh National Opera |
| 1992 | A Varied Evening of Musical Entertainment | | Blackfriars Theatre, Boston, Lincolnshire; Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton; Robin Hood Theatre, Averham | | Any Tessitura |
| 1993 | Tomfoolery | | Canal Cafe Theatre, London | | Sarah Jennings, Peter Crockford |
| 1994 | An Evening of Songs from Films and Musicals of the 70s and 80s | | Blackfriars Theatre, Boston, Lincolnshire; Robin Hood Theatre, Averham | | Any Tessitura |
| 1994 | Tomfoolery | | Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham | | |
| 1994 | Shameless! | | Macrobert Arts Centre, Stirling; Byre Theatre, St Andrews | The Good Wife | Opera Circus |
| 1994 | Trouble in Tahiti | Leonard Bernstein | Purcell Room, Southbank Centre, London | Dinah | JCM Productions, Peter Crockford |
| 1995 | Love Songs for St. Valentine's Day; Songs from the Shows | | Blackfriars Theatre, Boston, Lincolnshire; Duchess Theatre, Long Eaton | | Any Tessitura |
| 1995 | Trouble in Tahiti | Leonard Bernstein | The Theatre Chipping Norton | Dinah | Jigsaw Music Theatre |
| 1995-1996 | A Little Night Music | Stephen Sondheim | Olivier, National Theatre | | Royal National Theatre |
| 1996 | Cabaret with Morag McLaren | | Hebden Bridge Little Theatre, West Yorkshire | | |
| 1998, 1999 | I Never Do Anything Twice | | Wadhurst; Vinehall Theatre, Robertsbridge, East Sussex | Solo performer | |
| 1999 | Impropera | | Loughborough Town Hall | | Opera Circus |
| 1999-2002 | Hey Big Spender (A tribute to Dorothy Fields) | Dorothy Fields | Hills Street Theatre, Edinburgh Fringe Festival (1999); Pizza on the Park, Knightsbridge (2000); Purcell Room, Southbank Centre, London (2002) | Solo performer |
| 2005 | Lola Blau: Morag McLaren | Georg Kreisler | New End Theatre, Hampstead | Lola Blau | Mark Tinkler, Bruce O'Neil |
| 2006, 2008 | Impropera | | Jermyn Street Theatre, London; Leicester Square Theatre, London | | |

## Directing and coaching

McLaren was the founder and principal trustee of The Cooper Hall Foundation charity, which promoted music performances, education and the development of creative projects at Cooper Hall near Frome, Somerset. There, between 2013 and 2015, she directed the operas The Turn of the Screw, Hansel and Gretel, and Cosi Fan Tutte for Frome Festival, in collaboration with Bath Philharmonia, with a workshop focus. She was appointed Patron of Frome Festival in 2013.
McLaren also directed Dido and Aeneas at London College of Music. With mezzo-soprano Theresa Goble, she co-founded Vox Integra in 2012, which offered vocal coaching.
She is one of 20 opera singers featured in the 2018 book Opera Lives by Linda Kitchen.

## Personal life

She is married to a director of a US investment bank, and has two adult children. Her son Gregor Riddell is a professional cellist and composer, and her daughter Kirsty Riddell is an artist.