About Rebecca
Rebecca is a Scottish soprano and actor noted for her sensitivity to character in performance. On her depiction of Johanna in Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd the Calliope Arts Journal wrote, ‘MacGregor-Black plays a character worthy of the beauty of the song that bears her name…Black…is a breath of fresh air in the darkness of the production. Her wistful performance of “Green Finch and Linnet Bird” will capture your heart’. Rebecca’s emotive sensibility was similarly praised through her portrayal of Fanny Price in Dove’s Mansfield Park with Byre Opera – ‘…in a Cinderella-like characterization of a young woman who stands firm against bullies, it was pretty well perfect (Edinburgh Music Review).’
Rebecca’s warm youthful soprano, coupled with an ability to inhabit character on stage, has led to recent and continuing success in portraying child roles within the opera canon. Rebecca made her opera debut with the role of Yniold in Byre Opera’s 2022 production of Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande, directed by Kally Lloyd-Jones and conducted by Michael Downes (‘The Excellent Yniold was Rebecca MacGregor-Black’ – Opera Magazine). In March 2025 Rebecca sang the part of Cissie Woodger in the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire’s Spring Opera – Albert Herring, directed by Rebecca Meltzer and conducted by Paul Wingfield. This summer Rebecca looks forward to making her festival debut with Cumbria Opera Group as Flora in Britten’s The Turn of the Screw, directed by Jonny Danciger and conducted by Joe Davies.
Rebecca is currently in the final year of her Masters at RBC where she studies with Maureen Brathwaite. In addition to her most recent appearance in Britten’s Albert Herring, Rebecca performed the role of Maguelonne in Viardot’s Cendrillon for the department’s November 2024 Opera Scenes, directed by Lysanne Overbeek and conducted by Mark Austin. Rebecca sang chorus in RBC’s 2024 spring and summer operas – respectively Massenet’s Cendrillon directed by Matthew Eberhardt and conducted by Paul Wingfield; and Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel directed by Sophie Gilpin and conducted by Anthony Kraus.
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As an undergraduate at the University of St. Andrews Rebecca was taught voice by Jonathan May and Megan Read. Here, Rebecca held the Mary Carpenter Choral Scholarship and sang weekly with the St. Salvator’s Chapel Choir. In her honours years Rebecca was awarded a Laidlaw Music Centre Vocal Scholarship and thus appeared regularly as a solo recitalist in the McPherson Recital Room; and sang in various masterclasses led by visiting performers (incl. Lucy Schaufer and Lee Bisset). With repertoire ranging from Mozart to Copland to Richard Rodgers, Rebecca placed in both the 2021 and 2022 Laidlaw Soloist Competitions. During her studies Rebecca often represented the Music Centre at private events celebrating the award of honorary doctorates. In this capacity Rebecca performed to recipients including Andrew Marr, Lyse Doucet, Kirsty Work, Val McDermid, and Kenny Dalglish. Upon graduation, Rebecca was the recipient of the Cedric Thorpe Davie Memorial Prize for ‘outstanding contributions to musical drama’.
In March of this year Rebecca took part in a National Opera Studio workshop day, led by Maureen Brathwaite and Allyson Devenish at the Crescent Theatre in Birmingham, entitled "Storytelling in Opera and Musical Theatre”. Rebecca has always approached opera, song, and music-theatre rep as an actor-singer, having trained across classical, contemporary, and screen texts. In addition to private coaching, Rebecca has attended short courses at RADA and LAMDA. Here, tutors included Trilby James and Veronica Quilligan. During a break from formal education Rebecca studied and performed as a member of the Macrobert Theatre Company. Under the direction of Daniel Livingston this group of ‘select emerging talent’ explored aspects of improvisation and devised theatre and performed across venues from The Macrobert Arts Centre in Stirling to The Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh. Throughout her undergraduate studies Rebecca performed in several plays and musicals. Roles include – Johanna, Sweeney Todd (Sondheim); Mabel Chiltern, An Ideal Husband (Oscar Wilde); Daphne Stillington, Present Laughter (Noël Coward); and Cinderella, Into the Woods (Sondheim). Both Sondheim pieces were workshopped and coached by Lucy Schaufer. Most recently Rebecca played the role of Sister Berthe in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music at Birmingham’s Alexandra Theatre. This August 2024 production was directed by Pollyann Tanner and conducted by Chris Newton.
