Thomas Adès

I'm not sure when she stopped singing opera, but she was still making occasional recordings.

But in the year 1995, she created what was probably her most bold and daring role, that of the Duchess in Thomas Addis and Philip Hensher's new opera, Powder Her Face.

It was commissioned and premiered by Almeida Opera in London.

The opera depicts the rise and fall of the Duchess, based on the real-life Duchess of Argyll, who lived from 1912 to 1993.