Mezzo Carolyn Holt, praised for her “effortlessly effusive vocal power” (The Stage), is from a farming background in Ireland. She is the fiancée of Ernest’s grandson, baritone Mark Nathan. She never had the pleasure of meeting Ernest, but loved recording his very intuitively written compositions. Carolyn has performed with many major companies in the UK and Ireland. For the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, she performed the role of Bianca in The Rape of Lucretia, and covered the roles of Mrs Sedley in Peter Grimes and Margret in Wozzeck. Elsewhere in the UK, she ‘jumped in’ as Mrs Grose in The Turn of the Screw for Garsington Opera, to great critical acclaim – Opera Today wrote “Her voice shone with a maturity perfectly matching the role.”. She performed the role of Sister Helen Prejean in the UK staged premiere of Dead Man Walking, Prince Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus, Dido in Dido and Aeneas, Mary in The Flying Dutchman, and Minskwoman in Jonathan Dove’s Flight. In Ireland, she was seen as Charlotte in Lyric Opera Ireland's production of Werther at the National Concert Hall, and Annina in Irish National Opera’s production of Der Rosenkavalier. She has also performed with Scottish Opera, Welsh National Opera and Opera Collective Ireland. She is invited regularly as soloist with choral societies throughout the UK and Ireland where critics acclaim her “wonderfully dark, rich tone”.