Lyn Vernon (born August 19, 1944) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C ...

, dramatic

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

, conductor, and teacher. Born in

New Westminster New Westminster (colloquially known as New West) is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It was founded by Major-General Richard Moody as the capita ...

, Vernon took piano lessons in childhood before studying at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

, where her instructors included Barbara Custance, Kathryn Bailey, Marshall Sumner, and Donald Brown. She began her career in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

by appearing in small roles. She joined the roster of the Zurich Opera in 1971, remaining there until 1975. In 1974 she returned to Canada to sing the role of the Female Chorus in ''

The Rape of Lucretia ''The Rape of Lucretia'' (Op. 37) is an opera in two acts by Benjamin Britten, written for Kathleen Ferrier, who performed the title role. Ronald Duncan based his English libretto on André Obey's play '. Performance history The opera was fi ...

'' at the Guelph Festival, winning much acclaim. For Toronto, she sang Marina in ''

Boris Godunov Borís Fyodorovich Godunóv (; russian: Борис Фёдорович Годунов; 1552 ) ruled the Tsardom of Russia as ''de facto'' regent from c. 1585 to 1598 and then as the first non-Rurikid tsar from 1598 to 1605. After the end of his ...

'' and Judith in '' Duke Bluebeard's Castle''. In 1975 she bowed at the

London Coliseum The London Coliseum (also known as the Coliseum Theatre) is a theatre in St Martin's Lane, Westminster, built as one of London's largest and most luxurious "family" variety theatres. Opened on 24 December 1904 as the London Coliseum Theatre ...

as Octavian in ''

Der Rosenkavalier (''The Knight of the Rose'' or ''The Rose-Bearer''), Op. 59, is a comic opera in three acts by Richard Strauss to an original German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It is loosely adapted from the novel ''Les amours du chevalier de Faublas'' ...

''. In the 1980s she turned to the dramatic soprano repertoire; she retired from active professional singing in 1985, continuing her career as a voice teacher. From 1978 she has taught privately in British Columbia, and in 1988 founded the Sunshine Coast Music Society, becoming its artistic director and conductor. Also in 1988, she joined the faculty of

Capilano College Capilano University (CapU) is a teaching-focused public university based in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, located on the slopes of the North Shore Mountains, with programming that also serves the Sea-to-Sky Corridor and the Sunshin ...

, and she has been active in the realm of choral training as well.

References

1944 births Living people Canadian operatic mezzo-sopranos Canadian operatic sopranos 20th-century Canadian women opera singers 20th-century Canadian conductors (music) 21st-century Canadian women opera singers 21st-century Canadian conductors (music) Canadian women conductors (music) People from New Westminster Singers from British Columbia University of British Columbia alumni Academic staff of Capilano University Voice teachers Canadian music educators Canadian women music educators {{Canada-opera-singer-stub