Pauline Cecilia Tinsley (27 March 1928 – 10 May 2021) was a British

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 ...

, notable for her performances for the

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 ...

(1962–1972, 1975–1981) and the

English National Opera 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 ...

(1963–1974).

Biography

Tinsley was born in

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...

, near Manchester in March 1928 and studied at the

Northern School of Music The Northern School of Music was a music college located in Manchester which operated between 1920 and 1972 before merging with the Royal Manchester College of Music to form the Royal Northern College of Music. History The Northern School of M ...

with Margaret Dillon and Ellis Keeler, and then in London with

Joan Cross Joan Cross (7 September 1900 – 12 December 1993) was an English soprano, closely associated with the operas of Benjamin Britten. She also sang in the Italian and German operatic repertoires. She later became a musical administrator, taking on ...

, Dame Eva Turner and Roy Henderson. Her debut was in 1961 as Desdemona in Rossini's

Otello ''Otello'' () is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Shakespeare's play ''Othello''. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, first performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, on 5 February 1887. Th ...

with the Philopera Company at St. Pancras Town Hall, London, and she also sang leading roles in early Verdi and Wagner operas with that company. She joined the

in 1962 and the

in 1963, specialising in operas by Verdi, Puccini and Richard Strauss. In 1965, she became a member of The Royal Opera, Covent Garden, where she appeared as the Kostelnička in ''

Jenůfa ''Její pastorkyňa'' (''Her Stepdaughter''; commonly known as ''Jenůfa'' ) is an opera in three acts by Leoš Janáček to a Czech libretto by the composer, based on the play ''Její pastorkyňa'' by Gabriela Preissová. It was first performed ...

'' by Janáček, the title roles of '' Elektra'' and

Tosca ''Tosca'' is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900. The work, based on Victorien Sardou's 1 ...

and in other leading roles. Tinsley also sang at

Glyndebourne Festival Opera Glyndebourne Festival Opera is an annual opera festival held at Glyndebourne, an English country house near Lewes, in East Sussex, England. History Under the supervision of the Christie family, the festival has been held annually since 1934, e ...

, the

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 Hamburg, Zűrich, Vancouver, Houston, and Santa Fe. She was prized for her compelling dramatic presence and her easily heard, untiring voice. She sang Public Opinion in the 1983 BBC television production of ''

Orpheus in the Underworld ''Orpheus in the Underworld'' and ''Orpheus in Hell'' are English names for (), a comic opera with music by Jacques Offenbach and words by Hector Crémieux and Ludovic Halévy. It was first performed as a two-act " opéra bouffon" at the Thé� ...

''. Tinsley died on 10 May 2021, aged 93. Her marriage to George Neighbour produced two children, John and Julia. Her children survive her.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tinsley, Pauline 1928 births 2021 deaths 20th-century British women opera singers British sopranos English operatic sopranos Musicians from Lancashire Musicians from Wigan