Grammy Award-winning mezzo soprano Lucy Schaufer is voracious and versatile in her choice of repertoire.

Lucy’s career takes her to theatres and concert halls throughout the world: recent engagements include HORTENSE The Listeners Opera Philadelphia (North American premiere), KLEONIKE Lysistrata (world premiere recording) Boston Modern Opera Orchestra, MARCELLINA Le Nozze di Figaro Palm Beach Opera, HELENE Marx in London! Scottish Opera (UK premiere), MISTRESS QUICKLY Sir John in Love BARD Summer Fest, GOVERNESS Pique Dame Grange Festival, MARGRET Wozzeck Opéra de Monte-Carlo, WOMAN in The Blue Woman Royal Opera House, DOCTOR in Venables’s Olivier Award nominated 4.48 Psychosis Royal Opera House, PROTOTYPE Festival and Ensemble Intercontemporain, POLYCASTE Raising Icarus BCMG (world premiere), MADELEINE Three Decembers Opera della Luna at Wilton’s Music Hall (UK premiere), ANNE To Hell and Back Opera Faber at the Festeixo (European premiere), MRS JONES Street Scene Opéra de Monte-Carlo and Teatro Real Madrid, MRS LOVETT Sweeney Todd Des Moines Metro Opera, and she was the Artistic Producer for the UK premiere of Adamo’s Little Women Opera Holland Park as well as singing Cecilia March.

Musical Theatre credits include MARGARET JOHNSON in the European premiere of The Light in the Piazza CURVE/Leicester; Soloist with the John Wilson Orchestra at the BBC Proms - Bernstein: Stage and Screen BBCRadio3/BBC4 Television; ALDONZA The Man of La Mancha Central City Opera; MOTHER ABBESS The Sound of Music CURVE/Leicester; RUTH Comrade Rockstar (world premiere recording SimG); BARONESS SCHRAEDER The Sound of Music Central City Opera; CLARE DE LOONE On the Town English National Opera; Théatre du Châtelet; EMILIA The Firebrand of Florence Barbican/BBC Symphony Orchestra - CD; JOHANNA Sweeney Todd Opera North; One Touch of Venus and Lady in the Dark ENCORES! New York; Miss Hyde Very Warm for May (Carnegie Hall/McGlynn) and PBS Great Performances: Ira Gershwin at 100 – A Celebration at Carnegie Hall (PBS Television/Rob Fisher)

Directing credit Lucy directed Side by Side by Sondheim at The Byre Theatre in St Andrews, Scotland, with the creative team of Jason Carr (music director), Isobel Nicholson (set and costume design), Andrea Scott (video design), and Benny Goodman (lighting design).

Opera Companies include Los Angeles Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Washington National Opera, Dallas Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Des Moines Metro Opera, Central City Opera, New Zealand Opera, Opéra National du Rhin, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Théâtre du Châtelet, Opéra de Monte-Carlo, Hamburg State Opera, Oper Köln, Opéra de Lyon, Metropolitan Opera, New York City Ballet, Royal Opera House, Scottish Opera, Garsington Opera, Grange Festival, and English National Opera. In concert: London Sinfonietta, Britten Sinfonia, Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, BBC Scottish Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Orchestar Simfonica de Barcelona, Ensemble intercontemporain, Ensemble Modern, Gulbenkian Orchestra, Gűrzenich Orchester, and the John Wilson Orchestra at the BBC Proms, and in solo recitals include at New York Festival of Song, Moab Music Festival, Wigmore Hall, Ravinia Festival, Library of Congress, Buxton International Festival, and Aldeburgh Festival.

Recordings include Corigliano The Ghosts of Versailles - Susanna (LA Opera/Conlon/Best Opera Recording 2017), Adamo Becoming Santa Claus - Ib (Dallas Opera/Villaume/world premiere), Bray Fire Burning in Snow (NMC Recordings/BCMG/world premiere), Cutler Sonata for Broken Fingers - Denisova (Birmingham Record Company/BCMG/world premiere), MUSAE on Zoë Martlew debut disc ALBUM Z (NMC Recordings/Wild Plum Songbook), Stephen Barber Marbles (Astral Vinyl/Navona Records), Weill The Firebrand of Florence - Emilia (BBCSO/Sir Andrew Davies), Ira Gershwin at 100: Celebration at Carnegie Hall (PBS/Rob Fisher), Der Rosenkavalier - Octavian (ARTE/Young) and Bowles The Wind Remains - The Girl (BMG/EOS Ensemble/Sheffer). Co-produced with ABC Classics, Lucy’s debut solo recording, CARPENTERSVILLE, was the Editor’s Choice in Classical Music Magazine.

Educator & Mentor Lucy created a new course called Voice and Body Integration for the masters program Stagecraft provision at the Royal College of Music, London, and taught the course from 2008 until 2021. Lucy accepted the Bunyan-Craig Visiting Fellow of Singing at the University of St Andrews and taught at the Laidlaw Music Centre from 2021-2025. Lucy was the drama coach for the Washington National Opera from 2003-2006, a visiting professor for the Butler Opera Center at the University of Texas at Austin and The Western Australian Academy for the Performing Arts (WAAPA) in Perth. In 2024, Lucy curated a masterclass at the Wigmore Hall on Contemporary Classical Song with Lana Bode (pianist) including repertoire from John Corigliano, Judith Weir, Zoë Martlew, Conor Mitchell, Cheryl Frances-Hoad, Libby Larsen, Huw Watkins, and Master of the King’s Music Errollyn Wallen.

With over 75 world premieres under her belt, she dedicates her career to performing and collaborating with composers, leading Gramophone Magazine to say "She occupies an undefinable space in the 'who's who' of classical music." Lucy was shortlisted for the 2023 Royal Philharmonic Society Singer of the Year and was a member of the 2020 Beth Morrison Projects Producer’s Academy. She and Christopher Gillett established Wild Plum Arts in 2018, and have commissioned over 30 works for the Wild Plum Songbook, and created the first “think space” artists residency in the UK, in partnership with Sarah Bardwell at Britten Pears Arts, called Made At The Red House. During the period of 2019-2022, Wild Plum Arts supported over 50 creatives. She is a mentor, creative producer, and Artistic Director of Wild Plum Arts.

Current commission project: Wild Plum Arts is the funding commissioner of new texts by four writers (to be announced) for Tarik O’Regan’s  A Critical Mass, a humanist mass, using the Agnus Dei written for the Coronation of King Charles III as its core. In collaboration with the Wimbledon Choral Society and Pacific Chorale, Costa Mesa, California. World premiere Cadogan Hall, London, April 2026.

Tarik O’Regan described this new commission as “elevating the liturgical form into a poignant meditation on humanity’s responsibilities and aspirations.” He added: “I want to merge the solemnity of tradition with a vibrant, forward-looking energy, challenging and inspiring listeners to engage with the world in a spirit of hope and action.”

📷©Clare Park Photography 2025