She studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music & Drama. Her coperation with the Royal Opera House in London brought her to the forefront. She has appeared in opera houses around Europe and the United States, such as the Florida Grand Opera, the Washington Opera, the Berlin State Opera, the Geneva Opera and the Royal Monnaie Theatre in Brussels. She has sung at major opera festivals, such as: Salzburg, Aix-en-Provence, Tanglewood and Glyndebourne. Lately she has appeared as: Delilah [Händel Samson] at the Holland Opera; Helen [Peter Grimes] in Santiago, Chile; Cio-Cio-San [Madama Butterfly] at the Minnesota Opera; Adina [The Elixir of Love/L'elisir d'amore] at the Opera Holland Park; and Gilda [Rigoletto] at the English National Opera. She regularly collaborates with orchestras in concerts, under the baton of renowned conductors, such as: Tate, Abbado, Harnoncourt, Gardiner and Rattle. She also participated in an international tour alongside Plácido Domingo. Her repertoire includes, among others, the following roles: Nedda [Pagliacci], Musetta [La bohème], Liú [Turandot], Morgana [Alcina], Norina [Don Pasquale], Marguerite [Les Hoguenots], all four women's roles in The Tales of Hoffmann [Les contes d'Hoffmann], Countness Olga Sukarev [Fedora], Violetta [La traviata], Katerina [The Greek Passion/Řecké pašije] and Chiang Ch'ing (the wife of Mao Tse-tung) [Nixon in China]. She has appeared on TV. Her discography includes over thirty recordings with labels Chandos, Hyperion, ASV, Nimbus, etc. At the GNO she interpreted the roles of Chiang Ch'ing [Nixon in China] (Athens Concert Hall, 2006/07) and Parasha (Mavra) (Olympia Theater, 2007/08).