Frances McCafferty created the role of Yeta Zimmerman in the world premiere of Nicholas Maw’s opera Sophie’s Choice for the Royal Opera. Other roles for Covent Garden have included Mother Goose The Rake’s Progress, Nurse Boris Godounov, The Governess Cyrano de Bergerac, The Mother Lulu, First Maid Elektra, Mrs Trapes The Beggar’s Opera and The Governess in Pique Dame.

Other roles include Katisha The Mikado, Gertrude Hänsel und Gretel, Hostess at the Inn Boris Godunov and Auntie Peter Grimes (Nationale Reisopera), Mother Mavra (Greek National Opera), Hata The Bartered Bride and Mrs Herring Albert Herring (Glyndebourne Festival), Madame Popova The Bear (Cerniers Festival, Switzerland), Soloka Cherevicki (Garsington Festival) Kedruta and Fanny Novakova The Adventures of Mr Broucek (Opera North and Scottish Opera), Fortune Teller Julietta (Opera North at Ravenna Festival), Marcellina The Marriage of Figaro (Holland Park) Mrs Ott Susannah (Carlisle Floyd) and the title role in The Medium (Wexford Festival), La Haine Armide and Bostana The Barber of Baghdad (Buxton Festival), Mistress Quickly Falstaff (English National Opera, Opera North, New Israeli Opera, Stuttgart Staatsoper) Mother Goose The Rake’s Progress (Opera de Lille) Mrs Sedley Peter Grimes (Den Norske Opera, Oslo) the title role in The Medium (Singapore Symphony) Mother Goose and Baba The Rake’s Progress, Martinka The Kiss andKabanicha Katya Kabanova (Opera Theatre Company, Dublin) and Filipyevna Eugene Onegin (Opera North and English Touring Opera).

Frances McCafferty has also sung concerts and oratorios with many of the major orchestras in the UK including the City of Birmingham Symphony, the Hallé, the Bournemouth Symphony, RSNO and the Scottish Chamber Orchestras. Her association with Carl Davis has led to concerts in a lighter vein, including programmes of Broadway music with the Hallé, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, BBC Concert and Opera North orchestras. She is featured in a recording of World War Two songs conducted by Carl Davis. She is a regular guest for Opera Decentralise in Neuchatel, Switzerland, where her engagements have included concert performances of Les Noces, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Mussorgsky’s Le Mariageand Rossini’s Petite Messe Solenelle and Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde. She made her American debut in 2009 in two Gilbert and Sullivan concerts at the Grant Park Festival, Chicago and made her debut at the 2012 Savonlinna Opera Festival in Finland as Mrs Sedley in Peter Grimes.

Miss McCafferty’s recordings include Orpheus in the Underworld Sony, Le Nozze di Figaro Chandos, Patience and HMS Pinaforte TER, Cherevicki Garsington Opera own label, A Night at the Chinese Opera (Judith Weir) NMC, The Contrabandists/The Foresters Hyperion, The Beggar’s Opera Chandos and DVDs of Sophie’s Choice and Lulu on the Royal Opera House Opus Arte label.