Australian soprano
Yvonne Kenny
AM
(born 25 November 1950) is an Australian
soprano
, particularly associated with
Handel
,
Mozart
and
bel canto
roles.
Biography
[
edit
]
Born in
Sydney
, Kenny first studied at the
University of Sydney
in science, hoping to become a
biochemist
, but decided to pursue a career in music instead. She studied first with Myra Lambert at the
Sydney Conservatorium of Music
, and later won a scholarship to study at the opera school at
La Scala
in
Milan
. After a year of studying there, she went to England, where after a few recitals and TV appearances, her breakthrough came on 11 October 1975, when she replaced, with only four days' notice, the soprano scheduled to sing in an
Opera Rara
concert performance of
Donizetti
's
Rosmonda d'Inghilterra
at the
Queen Elizabeth Hall
. It was a triumph and the virtually unknown Kenny became an overnight star.
[1]
She made her debut at the
Royal Opera House
the following year, in the premiere of
Hans Werner Henze
's
We Come to the River
, later singing in Handel operas such as
Semele
,
Alcina
,
Giulio Cesare
, and such Mozart operas as:
Idomeneo
,
Mitridate, re di Ponto
,
La clemenza di Tito
,
The Abduction from the Seraglio
,
The Magic Flute
. She also sang Sophie in both
Werther
and
Der Rosenkavalier
. She was also a regular guest at the
Glyndebourne Festival
and the
English National Opera
. On the international scene, she appeared at opera houses in Zurich, Munich, Vienna, Aix-en-Provence, Washington, etc. She often returned home, appearing at the
Sydney Opera House
in roles including:
Melisande
,
Manon
,
Leila
,
Micaela
,
Fiordiligi
,
Pamina
, Alcina and
Cleopatra
. Later she sang the roles of
Richard Strauss
.
She performed the
Olympic Hymn
at the closing ceremony of the
2000 Summer Olympics
in
Sydney
. In 2001 she was awarded the
Centenary Medal
.
[2]
In 2009, Kenny appeared as Blanche DuBois in the Australian premiere of
Previn's
A Streetcar Named Desire
for
Opera Australia
.
[3]
After her initial success with Opera Rara, she appeared in many recordings with them, notably Donizetti's
Ugo, conte di Parigi
and
Emilia di Liverpool
,
Meyerbeer
's
Il crociato in Egitto
, and
Simon Mayr
's
Medea in Corinto
. She also provided the voice for the title role in the TV mini-series
Melba
, about Dame
Nellie Melba
.
[1]
She is the Chairman and Life President of the Australian Music Foundation.
[4]
Discography
[
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]
Albums
[
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]
Honours
[
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]
Awards and nominations
[
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]
- In June 1999 Kenny was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Music by the University of Sydney.
- In January 2019 she won "the 2019 Australian of the Year in the UK Award" ? the top honour from the Australia Day Foundation.
[9]
[10]
[11]
ARIA Music Awards
[
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]
The
ARIA Music Awards
is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of
Australian music
.
[12]
Bernard Heinze Memorial Award
[
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]
The
Sir Bernard Heinze Memorial Award
is given to a person who has made an outstanding contribution to music in Australia.
Mo Awards
[
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]
The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known informally as the
Mo Awards
), were annual Australian entertainment industry awards. They recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia from 1975 to 2016. Yvonne Kenny won one award in that time.
[14]
References
[
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]
Sources
[
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]
External links
[
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]
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