Francesca Bartolo is a Coloratura Mezzo-Soprano and Actor from Malta, currently studying with Sarah Pring and Peter Knapp on a Masters of Music Degree at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance (TLCMD) in London, where she has been awarded the Morag Noble Scholarship, the Kathleen Roberts Vocal Scholarship and is also  supported by the the BOV Joseph Calleja Foundation, Malta. In September 2023, she graduated with a Bachelor of Music (Performance) first-class honours from TLCMD with kind support of the BOV Joseph Calleja Foundation, Malta Arts Scholarships and Trinity Laban Bursaries. Francesca’s instrument boasts a rich vocal tone with a full lower range and an effortless reach into the high range . Her voice demonstrates flexibility and ease, particularly with agility, enabling her to perform coloratura passages with ease. The combination of tonal richness, extended range  and ease in agility  makes her a versatile performer.

Francesca has various exciting projects on the horizon. During the summer of 2024 she  joined The Berlin Opera Academy as a young artist, to receive specialized training under the Academy’s expertise. Additionally she took to the stage, the role of Die Hexe in Engelbert Humperdinck’s Hansel und Gretel as part of The Berlin Summer Opera Festival.  In the Summer of 2023, Francesca made her Carnegie Hall recital debut as a winner of the Laureate Gala by Progressive Musicians, kindly supported by Dr. John Vassallo and Mr. Kenneth Mizzi. She was also a young artists at the Manhattan Opera Studio and performed the role of Dritte Dame  in Mozart’s The Magic Flute in New York City.  She also performed in the opera studio’s Gala, held in The Weill Recital Room at Carnegie Hall. Her Studies with MOS were kindly supported by the BOV Joseph Calleja Foundation and the Arts Council Malta. Previous operatic roles have include Dorabella (Cosi Fan Tutte, Mozart), Baba The Turk (Stravinsky, The Rake’s Progress), Second Lady (Mozart, The Magic Flute), The Mother’s voice (Offenbach, The tales of Hoffmann), Patricia (Strozzi!, Barbara Strozzi) And Marcellina (Mozart, Le Nozze Di Figaro).

Francesca has participated in Masterclasses with Nicky Spence, Yvonne Howard, Miriam Gauci, Jessica Cambio, Darrelle Babidge, Michael Recchiuti, Elizabeth Blancke-Biggs and Lauren Flanigan. 

In 2019, Francesca was awarded a Foundation certificate Diploma in Music at TLCMD before continuing her studies at undergraduate level. Apart from her full-time studies in London, Francesca has also studied with Mro. Vladimir Chernov in Austria and Ubaldo Fabri in Italy.

Francesca was born into a family of dancers and music lovers and  was introduced to music at the tender age of three through dance and spent fifteen years training in Classical Ballet with Mary Jane Bellia and Johanne Casabene. As her love for music grew, she also developed a love for singing and musical theatre which was nurtured at her local school through her drama teacher. At the age of fifteen, she was discovered by local  tenor Brian Cefai, who identified the potential of a Mezzo-soprano voice. He guided her vocal development through ABRSM graded exams. In 2016, Francesca left her home to pursue classical music, where she moved to London to study in a private studio with Marcus Van Den Akker before being offered a place at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance.