Jill Gomez
Encyclopedia
Jill Gomez is a Trinidadian and British soprano
of Hispanic
origin.
She was born in Guyana
to a Trinidadian father and British mother; was raised in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
; and has made her career primarily in the United Kingdom
. After studying briefly at St. Joseph's Convent (Port of Spain) in Trinidad and dominating at the islands' biennial Music Festival, she moved to England at 13, where she studied at London's Royal Academy of Music
and Guildhall School of Music.
She made her stage debut as Adina in Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore
with the Glyndebourne
Touring Opera in 1968. She then created the role of Flora in The Knot Garden
at the Royal Opera, London
in 1970 and that of the Countess in Thea Musgrave
's The Voice of Ariadne at the Aldeburgh Festival
in (1973). She also appeared in productions by the English National Opera
, Scottish Opera
, Oper Frankfurt and others. Her roles included Mélisande
, Fiordiligi
and the Governess
.
In 1995 she created the lead role of the Duchess of Argyll in Powder Her Face
. Her recording of the latter role was nominated for a Grammy Award
, and in Allmusic Erik Eriksson wrote: "Gomez's portrayal is a tour de force, alternately opulent and unhinged. She achieves the difficult task of making a figure of ridicule into a person who evokes sympathy from the listener."
Her recording of Canteloube's Songs of the Auvergne with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
, conducted by Vernon Handley
, was awarded a Rosette in the Penguin Guide to CDs and DVDs.
Gomez lives in Cambridgeshire
with her husband, music critic Patrick Carnegy, 15th Earl of Northesk
.
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
of Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
origin.
She was born in Guyana
Guyana
Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...
to a Trinidadian father and British mother; was raised in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
; and has made her career primarily in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. After studying briefly at St. Joseph's Convent (Port of Spain) in Trinidad and dominating at the islands' biennial Music Festival, she moved to England at 13, where she studied at London's Royal Academy of Music
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...
and Guildhall School of Music.
She made her stage debut as Adina in Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore
L'elisir d'amore
L'elisir d'amore is an opera by the Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. It is a melodramma giocoso in two acts...
with the Glyndebourne
Glyndebourne
Glyndebourne is a country house, thought to be about six hundred years old, located near Lewes in East Sussex, England. It is also the site of an opera house which, with the exception of its closing during the Second World War, for a few immediate post-war years, and in 1993 during the...
Touring Opera in 1968. She then created the role of Flora in The Knot Garden
The Knot Garden
The Knot Garden is the third opera by composer Michael Tippett for which he wrote the original English libretto. The work had its first performance at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, on 2 December 1970 conducted by Sir Colin Davis and produced by Sir Peter Hall...
at the Royal Opera, London
Royal Opera, London
The Royal Opera is an opera company based in central London, resident at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Along with the English National Opera, it is one of the two principal opera companies in London. Founded in 1946 as the Covent Garden Opera Company, it was known by that title until 1968...
in 1970 and that of the Countess in Thea Musgrave
Thea Musgrave
Thea Musgrave CBE is a Scottish composer of opera and classical music.-Biography:Born in Barnton, Edinburgh, Thea Musgrave studied at the University of Edinburgh and in Paris as a pupil of Nadia Boulanger...
's The Voice of Ariadne at the Aldeburgh Festival
Aldeburgh Festival
The Aldeburgh Festival is an English arts festival devoted mainly to classical music. It takes place each June in the Aldeburgh area of Suffolk, centred on the main concert hall at Snape Maltings...
in (1973). She also appeared in productions by the English National Opera
English National Opera
English National Opera 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, Covent Garden...
, Scottish Opera
Scottish Opera
Scottish Opera is the national opera company of Scotland, and one of the five national performing arts companies funded by the Scottish Government...
, Oper Frankfurt and others. Her roles included Mélisande
Pelléas et Mélisande (opera)
Pelléas et Mélisande is an opera in five acts with music by Claude Debussy. The French libretto was adapted from Maurice Maeterlinck's Symbolist play Pelléas et Mélisande...
, Fiordiligi
Così fan tutte
Così fan tutte, ossia La scuola degli amanti K. 588, is an opera buffa by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart first performed in 1790. The libretto was written by Lorenzo Da Ponte....
and the Governess
The Turn of the Screw
The Turn of the Screw is a novella written by Henry James. Originally published in 1898, it is ostensibly a ghost story.Due to its ambiguous content, it became a favourite text of academics who subscribe to New Criticism. The novella has had differing interpretations, often mutually exclusive...
.
In 1995 she created the lead role of the Duchess of Argyll in Powder Her Face
Powder Her Face
Powder Her Face is a chamber opera in two acts, Op. 14 by the British composer Thomas Adès , with an English libretto by Philip Hensher. The opera is 2 hours 20 minutes long...
. Her recording of the latter role was nominated for a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
, and in Allmusic Erik Eriksson wrote: "Gomez's portrayal is a tour de force, alternately opulent and unhinged. She achieves the difficult task of making a figure of ridicule into a person who evokes sympathy from the listener."
Her recording of Canteloube's Songs of the Auvergne with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society is a society based in Liverpool, Merseyside, England, that organises concerts and other events mainly in the field of classical music. The society is the second oldest of its type in the United Kingdom and its orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic...
, conducted by Vernon Handley
Vernon Handley
Vernon George "Tod" Handley CBE was a British conductor, known in particular for his support of British composers. He was born of a Welsh father and an Irish mother into a musical family in Enfield, London. He acquired the nickname "Tod" because his feet were turned in at his birth, which his...
, was awarded a Rosette in the Penguin Guide to CDs and DVDs.
Gomez lives in Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
with her husband, music critic Patrick Carnegy, 15th Earl of Northesk
Patrick Carnegy, 15th Earl of Northesk
Patrick Charles Carnegy, 15th Earl of Northesk is a British hereditary peer, journalist and scholar.Carnegy was educated at Rugby School and Trinity Hall, Cambridge, matriculating in 1960...
.