Marilyn Richardson (born 10 June 1936) is an Australian operatic soprano. She sang Laura in the first performances of

Richard Meale Richard Graham Meale, AM, MBE (24 August 193223 November 2009) was an Australian composer of instrumental works and operas. Biography Meale was born in Sydney. At the time the Meale family lived in Marrickville, an inner suburb of Sydney. Meale ...

's opera, ''

Voss Voss () is a municipality and a traditional district in Vestland county, Norway. The administrative center of the municipality is the village of Vossevangen. Other villages include Bolstadøyri, Borstrondi, Evanger, Kvitheim, Mjølfjell, Opphe ...

''.

Career

Born in Sydney on 10 June 1936, Richardson studied singing and piano at the

New South Wales Conservatorium of Music The Sydney Conservatorium of Music (formerly the New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music and known by the moniker "The Con") is a heritage-listed music school in Macquarie Street, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the ol ...

. Richardson won a

Churchill Fellowship Winston Churchill Memorial Trusts (WCMT) are three independent but related living memorials to Sir Winston Churchill, based in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. They exist for the purpose of administering Churchill Fellowships, a ...

and went to Europe to continue her studies with

Pierre Bernac Pierre Louis Bernac (né Bertin; 12 January 1899 – 17 October 1979) was a French singer, a baryton-martin, known as an interpreter of the French mélodie. He had a close artistic association with Francis Poulenc, with whom he performed i ...

in Paris and

Conchita Badía Concepció Badia Millàs (14 November 1897 – 2 May 1975) (known by her stage name as Conchita Badía or Conxita Badia) was a Spanish soprano and pianist. Admired for her spontaneity, expressiveness, and clear diction, she was considered one o ...

in Barcelona. She made her European debut in 1972 in

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

singing the leading role in

Alban Berg Alban Maria Johannes Berg ( , ; 9 February 1885 – 24 December 1935) was an Austrian composer of the Second Viennese School. His compositional style combined Romantic lyricism with the twelve-tone technique. Although he left a relatively sma ...

's opera, ''

Lulu Lulu may refer to: Companies * LuLu, an early automobile manufacturer * Lulu.com, an online e-books and print self-publishing platform, distributor, and retailer * Lulu Hypermarket, a retail chain in Asia * Lululemon Athletica or simply Lulu, a C ...

''. Back in Australia she sang ''

Aida ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 December ...

'' with the

Opera Australia Opera Australia is the principal opera company in Australia. Based in Sydney, its performance season at the Sydney Opera House accompanied by the Opera Australia Orchestra runs for approximately eight months of the year, with the remainder of ...

and many other roles followed, with her repertoire covering medieval to late twentieth-century works. Sydney music critic Roger Covell described her performance as Laura in the world premiere of

's ''

'' as a "striking portrayal". She has had songs composed for her by

Ann Carr-Boyd Ann Kirsten Carr-Boyd (born 13 July 1938) is an Australian classical composer and musicologist. She is considered an authority on the history of European music in Australia. Biography Ann Kirsten Wentzel was born in Sydney. Her grandfather W ...

, Richard Mills,

Larry Sitsky Lazar "Larry" Sitsky (born 10 September 1934) is an Australian composer, pianist, and music educator and scholar. His long term legacy is still to be assessed, but through his work to date he has made a significant contribution to the Austra ...

Nigel Butterley Nigel Henry Cockburn Butterley (13 May 1935 – 19 February 2022) was an Australian composer and pianist. Life and career Butterley was born in Sydney and learned to play the piano at the age of five. He attended Sydney Grammar School, but mus ...

and

Philip Bračanin Philip Bračanin (born 26 May 1942) is an Australian composer and musicologist. Life Bračanin was born in Kalgoorlie, the son of Croatian immigrants. HIs early musical studies were with Miss Olive Ruane, and he graduated from the University of ...

. In 1993 Richardson was awarded a Doctor of Music (honoris causa) by the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

in recognition of her career both as singer and teacher in Australia and worldwide.

References

External links

Voss_[sound_recording
_from_novel_to_opera_stage.html" ;"title="ound recording">Voss [sound recording
from novel to opera stage">ound recording">Voss [sound recording
from novel to opera stage– Richardson and others speak about ''Voss''
Richardson's Australian performances
via AusStage {{DEFAULTSORT:Richardson, Marilyn 1936 births Living people Sydney Conservatorium of Music alumni Australian operatic sopranos

Career

References

Further reading

External links