Veronica Dunne (2 August 1927 – 5 April 2021), also known as Ronnie Dunne, was an Irish

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

tic

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 ...

and voice teacher who was described as "an Irish national treasure". After a successful operatic career at the Dublin Opera and the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Op ...

in London, she focused on voice teaching in Dublin, where she trained future international singers. The triennial Veronica Dunne International Singing Competition was established in 1995. She received the National Concert Hall Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014.

Early life

Dunne was born in Dublin on 20 August 1927. She was the youngest of three children of a well-to-do family. Her father worked as a

master builder A master builder or master mason is a central figure leading construction projects in pre-modern times (a precursor to the modern architect and engineer). Historically, the term has generally referred to "the head of a construction project in the ...

whose construction firm built the church in

Foxrock Foxrock () is an affluent suburb of Dublin, Ireland. It is within the county of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, in the postal district of Dublin 18 and in the Roman Catholic parish of Foxrock. History The suburb of Foxrock was developed by William a ...

in the early 1930s. Dunne began singing when she was 11 years old. She studied initially in Dublin with Hubert Rooney. She then sold her pony for £125 in order to fund her dream of studying music in Italy. She went to Rome in 1946 to study with Soldini Calcagni and Francesco Calcatelli. Her family met with Sarsfield Hogan, the secretary of the Department of Finance at the time, to discuss the issue of her monthly allowance, which would have breached

foreign exchange controls Foreign exchange controls are various forms of controls imposed by a government on the purchase/sale of foreign currencies by residents, on the purchase/sale of local currency by nonresidents, or the transfers of any currency across national bor ...

. Sarsfield permitted her to receive the money on the condition that she return to Ireland in the future and teach her young compatriots to sing.

Career

Dunne made her operatic debut in Dublin in 1948 as Micaëla in Bizet's ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...

'' with the

Dublin Grand Opera Society The Irish National Opera was created from a merger of the Opera Theatre Company (OTC) and Wide Open Opera in 2017 and launched in January 2018. The new entity continues the tradition of the former Opera Ireland (), Ireland's first permanent natio ...

, and appeared there in 1949 as Marguerite in Gounod's '' Faust''. She won the Concorso Lirico Milano in 1952, which brought her the role of Mimì in Leoncavallo's '' La bohème'' at the Teatro Nuovo in Milan, which in turn brought her a contract from the

in London, where she first appeared as Sophie in '' Der Rosenkavalier'' by Richard Strauss. She performed at the house alongside

Joan Sutherland Dame Joan Alston Sutherland, (7 November 1926 – 10 October 2010) was an Australian dramatic coloratura soprano known for her contribution to the renaissance of the bel canto repertoire from the late 1950s through to the 1980s. She possessed ...

and Kathleen Ferrier. In 1958, she appeared as Blanche in the first performance at the house of Poulenc's '' Dialogues of the Carmelites''. She also performed with Welsh National Opera, Scottish Opera, and Wexford Festival Opera. She returned to the stage in 2002 to appear as Countess in Tchaikovsky's ''

Pique Dame The queen of spades (Q) is one of 52 playing cards in a standard deck: the queen of the suit of spades (). In Old Maid and several games of the Hearts family, it serves as a single, undesirable card in the deck. Roles by game In the Hearts fam ...

'' at the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin. Dunne gave a number of world premieres of works by contemporary Irish composers including ''Never to Have Lived is Best'' (1965) by Seóirse Bodley, as well as ''Irish Songs'' (1971) and ''The Táin'' (1970) by James Wilson. Dunne was appointed a vocal teacher at the then Dublin College of Music (today Technical University Conservatory of Music and Drama) in 1962. She was awarded an honorific doctorate in 1987. She retired in 1992, but continuing to teach at the Leinster School of Music and the Royal Irish Academy of Music. Dunne's students included Patricia Bardon, Orla Boylan, Mary Brennan,

Tara Erraught Tara Erraught (born 1986, Dublin, Ireland) is an Irish mezzo-soprano, a graduate of the Royal Irish Academy of Music (RIAM). Erraught is known for her work with Bavarian State Opera, for which she has been given a ' award. She stepped in on fiv ...

, Lynda Lee, Colette McGahon, Anthony Kearns, Suzanne Murphy, and

Finbar Wright Edward Finbar Wright (born 26 September 1957), known popularly as Finbar Wright, is a popular music singer, songwriter, and poet from County Cork, Ireland. Wright is a classically trained tenor who emerged during the 1990s in Ireland and has be ...

, who have all sung in the major international opera houses. In 2014, aged 87, she continued to teach 39 hours a week. The triennial Veronica Dunne International Singing Competition, established by the Friends of the Vocal Arts in Ireland in 1995, awards bursaries in her name. Recipients have included Orla Boylan, Sarah-Jane Brandon,

, Pumeza Matshikiza and

Simon O'Neill Simon John O'Neill (born 1971) is a New Zealand-born operatic tenor. In 1998, his image appeared on the New Zealand one-dollar performing arts postage stamp. Biography O'Neill was born in Ashburton, New Zealand, and received his musical tra ...

. Dunne received the National Concert Hall Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014.

Personal life

Dunne married Peter McCarthy in 1953; the couple had two children. Dunne died at the age of 93, announced on 5 April 2021. Irish President Michael D. Higgins paid tribute to Dunne, saying that she "captivated millions with her singing" and adding, "The legacy she leaves lies in the talents of those scores of others whose talents and performances she unlocked with her enthusiasm, energy and commitment as a teacher and friend."

References

External links

*
Interview

RTÉ (RTÉ) (; Irish language, Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the Public broadcaster, national broadcaster of Republic of Ireland, Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on RTÉ Television, telev ...

, 22 December 2017
In Conversation with Veronica Dunne
(interview) ''Final Note Magazine'', April 2016 {{DEFAULTSORT:Dunne, Veronica Irish operatic sopranos Musicians from Dublin (city) Voice teachers 20th-century Irish women opera singers 1927 births 2021 deaths

Early life

Career

Personal life

References

Further reading

External links