Soprano Dame Felicity Lott dies aged 79

Key developments are emerging from the global stage. Soprano Dame Felicity Lott dies aged 7950 minutes ago Share Save Add as preferred on GoogleClaire KeenanGettyDame Felicity Lott, one of Britain's best-loved sopranos, has died at the age of 79. The singer died on 15 May after a recent interview she gave to the in which she announced she had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. The acclaimed soprano built an international career spanning four decades, in which she performed at opera houses and concert halls around the world, singing works by composers including Richard Strauss, Schubert and Mozart.

Dame Felicity's agent told the that "in her work, she was sublime; inhabiting every performance with precision, depth and beauty". "But it was her humanity and kindness that really touched people... will miss her warmth, sparkle and gloriously self-deprecating humour," the agent said.

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Dame Felicity lived with "her illness with great dignity and acceptance" and "was characteristically classy and elegant to the end", the agent added. Born on 8 May, 1947 in Cheltenham, Dame Felicity was musical from an early age. At five-years-old she was playing the piano and by 12 she was singing and playing violin.

She went on to study at the Royal Academy of Music, and made her operatic debut and breakthrough role as a last minute stand-in as the character Pamina in Mozart's The Magic Flute in 1975. At home, she was seen frequently on television, sang regularly at the Proms and was made a Dame in 1996. She was also the recipient of the Légion d'Honneur, France's highest cultural award.

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.