Joyce Blackham (1 January 1934 – 4 June 2018) was an English operatic mezzo-soprano. She was known particularly for the title role in Bizet's opera '' Carmen'', which she played in opera houses worldwide.

Life

She was born in

Rotherham Rotherham () is a large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then merges with the River Don. The River Don then flows through the town centre. It is the main settlement of ...

, daughter of Albert Blackham, a steelworker, and wife Sarah, and was educated at Rotherham Girls' Grammar School. Aged 15 she won a singing competition at Butlin's in Skegness, and at 17 she won a talent competition at Bridlington."Joyce Blackham, alluring mezzo-soprano – obituary"
''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'', 12 June 2018. Retrieved 11 March 2020."Obituary: Joyce Blackham – ‘star British mezzo-soprano’"
''

The Stage ''The Stage'' is a British weekly newspaper and website covering the entertainment industry and particularly theatre. It was founded in 1880. It contains news, reviews, opinion, features, and recruitment advertising, mainly directed at those wh ...

'', 20 June 2018. Retrieved 6 March 2020. She went to the Guildhall School of Music; there she studied with

Joseph Hislop Joseph Hislop (5 April 18846 May 1977) was a Scottish lyric tenor who appeared in opera and oratorio and gave concerts around the world. He sang at La Scala, Milan, the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London, and the Opéra-Comique, Paris, a ...

and, as Dorabella in a student production of Mozart's opera '' Così fan tutte'', she gained attention. In 1955 she was invited to join the

Sadler's Wells Opera Company English National Opera (ENO) is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with The Royal Opera. ENO's productions are sung in English. ...

; early roles there were Lola in Mascagni's ''

Cavalleria rusticana ''Cavalleria rusticana'' (; Italian for "rustic chivalry") is an opera in one act by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci, adapted from an 1880 short story of the same name and subsequent play ...

'' and Olga in Tchaikovsky's ''

Eugene Onegin ''Eugene Onegin, A Novel in Verse'' (Reforms of Russian orthography, pre-reform Russian: ; post-reform rus, Евгений Оне́гин, ромáн в стихáх, p=jɪvˈɡʲenʲɪj ɐˈnʲeɡʲɪn, r=Yevgeniy Onegin, roman v stikhakh) is ...

''. In 1962 she first played the title role in '' Carmen''. She appeared in several operettas of Offenbach, and in 1965 she created the role of Rosalind in the opera ''

The Mines of Sulphur ''The Mines of Sulphur'' is an opera in three acts by Richard Rodney Bennett, his first full-length opera, composed in 1963. Beverley Cross wrote the libretto, based on his play ''Scarlet Ribbons'', at the suggestion of Colin Graham, who eventual ...

'' by Richard Rodney Bennett. She remained with the company until 1974."Joyce Blackham"
Opera Scotland. Retrieved 6 March 2020. She also sang with

Welsh National Opera Welsh National Opera (WNO) ( cy, Opera Cenedlaethol Cymru) is an opera company based in Cardiff, Wales; it gave its first performances in 1946. It began as a mainly amateur body and transformed into an all-professional ensemble by 1973. In its ...

and

Scottish Opera Scottish Opera is the national opera company of Scotland, and one of the five national performing arts companies of Scotland. Founded in 1962 and based in Glasgow, it is the largest performing arts organisation in Scotland. History Scottish ...

. At Royal Opera, Covent Garden she first appeared in 1958 as Esmeralda in ''

The Bartered Bride ''The Bartered Bride'' ( cz, Prodaná nevěsta, links=no, ''The Sold Bride'') is a comic opera in three acts by the Czech composer Bedřich Smetana, to a libretto by Karel Sabina. The work is generally regarded as a major contribution towards the ...

''; she returned to Covent Garden occasionally, including a production of ''

Rigoletto ''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play '' Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had co ...

'' in 1973, as Maddalena. She played the role of Carmen in many opera houses, including (each time with

Plácido Domingo José Plácido Domingo Embil (born 21 January 1941) is a Spanish opera singer, conductor, and arts administrator. He has recorded over a hundred complete operas and is well known for his versatility, regularly performing in Italian, French ...

as Don José) at

Fort Worth Opera Fort Worth Opera is the oldest continually-performing opera company in the state of Texas and among the oldest in the United States, according to the company. While originally presenting operas one at a time over a fall/winter season, it changed ...

in Texas in 1965, at

New York City Opera The New York City Opera (NYCO) is an American opera company located in Manhattan in New York City. The company has been active from 1943 through 2013 (when it filed for bankruptcy), and again since 2016 when it was revived. The opera company, du ...

in 1966, and at the

Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh Fe ...

in 1977."Obituary: Joyce Blackham Dies At 84"
Operawire. Retrieved 10 March 2020.

Family

In 1955 Joyce Blackham married the baritone Peter Glossop. A daughter died soon after birth; another child was stillborn. The marriage was dissolved in 1977. Her later marriage to Burt Kyle was dissolved; her third husband Tony Deacon predeceased her.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Blackham, Joyce 1934 births 2018 deaths English opera singers English mezzo-sopranos People from Rotherham