Full Biography
Welsh personality, Shân Cothi is a versatile performer in both classical and music theatre repertoire and is an experienced actress, television and radio presenter in Wales. She began her career as a music teacher, but winning the Blue Riband for the best classical soloist at the National Eisteddfod of Wales in 1995 prompted her to become a professional singer.
Her career as a singer has spanned a range of music styles from opera, oratorio, music theatre, jazz, welsh song to contemporary music. She has performed throughout the world in a variety of venues from the Wales Millennium Centre to Her Majesty’s Theatre in London’s West End, from the Ritz- Carlton Hotel, San Francisco to the Kowloon Shanghai Hotel in Hong Kong.
Shân performed the role of Carlotta in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s West End production of ThePhantom of the Opera for fifteen months in the West End, London. Her self-titled music television series for S4C won a BAFTA award was nominated for the best music programme in the Montreux Festival.
Following the release of her debut album Passione with the Welsh National Chamber Orchestra on the Sain Label in 2005, a promotional video of one of the tracks was voted ‘Most Watched Video’ on Classic FM television.
Shân made her television acting debut playing the role of Davina Roberts in the highly successful drama series ‘Con Passionate’ for S4C and was nominated in the ‘Best Newcomer’ category at the 2006 BAFTA Cymru awards.
Shân has presented a number of television series for S4C and also presented programmes for both Radio Wales and Radio Cymru. The S4C programmes include ‘Bro’ which saw her and co – presenter Iolo Williams travelling all over Wales getting to know different localities through its people, and ‘Y Sipsiwn’ in which Shân traveled in a gipsy caravan following the old Welsh Romany gipsy route.
Shân is a keen horsewoman and in 2012 the television programme Cheltenham Cothi,documented her progress training to be a jockey to compete in the St Patrick’s Day Charity Derby at Cheltenham. In 2013 she successfully completed the challenge of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in support of Velindre Cancer Centre and “Amser Justin Time”, a charity Shân founded to raise awareness of Pancreatic Cancer.
In 2014 Shân made her debut in the role of Mrs Lovett in Sweeney Todd, with Bryn Terfel in the title role, at Llangollen international Eisteddfod. This year she will understudy Emma Thompson in the role of Mrs Lovett for English National Opera.
Shân currently presents a daily morning programme on Radio Cymru. Future plans include a concert tour of Wales to promote her new album due to be released this Autumn.
