Rita Hunter
Encyclopedia
Rita Hunter CBE was a British opera
tic dramatic soprano
.
Rita Hunter was born in Wallasey
, Merseyside. She studied singing in Liverpool with Edwin Francis and later in London with Redvers Llewellyn and Clive Carey
. She joined the Sadler's Wells Opera
Company in 1957, and sang in the chorus with them for two years before touring with the Carl Rosa Opera Company
. She then obtained a grant from the Countess of Munster Trust, which made it possible for her to study for a year with Dame Eva Turner
. After this she went back to the Company as a principal, where her roles included Senta in The Flying Dutchman, Musetta in La bohème
, Odabella in Attila
, Fata Morgana in The Love of Three Oranges, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni
, Amelia in A Masked Ball
, Santuzza in Cavalleria rusticana
, Elizabeth in Don Carlos
and Leonora in Il trovatore
. She also sang all three Brünnhildes in the operas of The Ring of the Nibelung.
Rita Hunter will be remembered as one of the major Wagner
ian sopranos of the later 20th century, especially for her performances as Brünnhilde in the Ring cycle conducted by Reginald Goodall
at the English National Opera
. In this production she was partnered by Alberto Remedios
(who had studied singing at the same time as Hunter in Liverpool
with Edwin Francis) as Siegfried
, and Norman Bailey as Wotan. The recordings based on this production, with the same artists, are regarded as amongst the finest available, even though they are sung, in accordance with ENO traditions, in English.
In the Glen Byam Shaw
Ring production, the quality of Hunter's singing and interpretation enabled audiences to set aside her outsize stature (which conformed to all prejudices about Wagnerian sopranos), and few have matched her conviction as Brünnhilde. She made her debut at the New York Metropolitan Opera
on December 19, 1972, in Die Walküre
with great success (conductor Erich Leinsdorf
and Dame Gwyneth Jones as Sieglinde). She performed the Götterdämmerung Brünnhilde at Covent Garden, and also sang the part of Senta there at short notice. Hunter's later performances of Die Walküre in 1975 featured Birgit Nilsson
as Sieglinde and were conducted by Sixten Ehrling
.
She also performed in Wagner and other operas in Munich, Seattle, New Orleans, San Francisco, and with the Welsh National Opera
. In a memorable San Francisco season, she played the roles of Norma
and Sieglinde in the same week.
In 1980 she was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire
(CBE).
In 1981 she moved to Sydney
and joined the Australian Opera
. In 1986 she published her memoirs, Wait till the sun shines, Nellie. She died in Sydney in 2001, aged 67.
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
tic dramatic soprano
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...
.
Rita Hunter was born in Wallasey
Wallasey
Wallasey is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in Merseyside, England, on the mouth of the River Mersey, at the northeastern corner of the Wirral Peninsula...
, Merseyside. She studied singing in Liverpool with Edwin Francis and later in London with Redvers Llewellyn and Clive Carey
Clive Carey
Francis Clive Savill Carey CBE , known as Clive Carey, was a British baritone, singing teacher, composer, opera producer and folk song collector.-Biography:Clive Carey was born at Sible Hedingham, Essex in 1883...
. She joined the Sadler's Wells Opera
Sadler's Wells Theatre
Sadler's Wells Theatre is a performing arts venue located in Rosebery Avenue, Clerkenwell in the London Borough of Islington. The present day theatre is the sixth on the site since 1683. It consists of two performance spaces: a 1,500 seat main auditorium and the Lilian Baylis Studio, with extensive...
Company in 1957, and sang in the chorus with them for two years before touring with the Carl Rosa Opera Company
Carl Rosa Opera Company
The Carl Rosa Opera Company was founded in 1873 by Carl August Nicholas Rosa, a German-born musical impresario, to present opera in English in London and the British provinces. The company survived Rosa's death in 1889, and continued to present opera in English on tour until 1960, when it was...
. She then obtained a grant from the Countess of Munster Trust, which made it possible for her to study for a year with Dame Eva Turner
Eva Turner
Dame Eva Turner DBE was an English dramatic soprano with an international reputation. Her strong, steady and well-trained voice was renowned for its clarion power in Italian and German operatic roles.-Career:...
. After this she went back to the Company as a principal, where her roles included Senta in The Flying Dutchman, Musetta in La bohème
La bohème
La bohème is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions quadro, a tableau or "image", rather than atto . by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger...
, Odabella in Attila
Attila (opera)
Attila is an opera in a prologue and three acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Temistocle Solera, based on the play Attila, König der Hunnen by Friedrich Ludwig Zacharias Werner. Initially, Verdi had enlisted Francesco Maria Piave to prepare the libretto, after Verdi's own scenario...
, Fata Morgana in The Love of Three Oranges, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and with an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It was premiered by the Prague Italian opera at the Teatro di Praga on October 29, 1787...
, Amelia in A Masked Ball
Un ballo in maschera
Un ballo in maschera , is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi with text by Antonio Somma. The libretto is loosely based on an 1833 play, Gustave III, by French playwright Eugène Scribe who wrote about the historical assassination of King Gustav III of Sweden...
, Santuzza in Cavalleria rusticana
Cavalleria rusticana
Cavalleria rusticana is an opera in one act by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci, adapted from a play written by Giovanni Verga based on his short story. Considered one of the classic verismo operas, it premiered on May 17, 1890 at the Teatro...
, Elizabeth in Don Carlos
Don Carlos
Don Carlos is a five-act grand opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi to a French language libretto by Camille du Locle and Joseph Méry, based on the dramatic play Don Carlos, Infant von Spanien by Friedrich Schiller...
and Leonora in Il trovatore
Il trovatore
Il trovatore is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play El Trovador by Antonio García Gutiérrez. Cammarano died in mid-1852 before completing the libretto...
. She also sang all three Brünnhildes in the operas of The Ring of the Nibelung.
Rita Hunter will be remembered as one of the major Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
ian sopranos of the later 20th century, especially for her performances as Brünnhilde in the Ring cycle conducted by Reginald Goodall
Reginald Goodall
Sir Reginald Goodall was an English conductor, noted for his performances of the operas of Richard Wagner and conducting the premieres of several operas by Benjamin Britten.-Biography:...
at 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...
. In this production she was partnered by Alberto Remedios
Alberto Remedios
Alberto Remedios is a British former operatic tenor, especially noted for his interpretations of Wagner's heldentenor roles....
(who had studied singing at the same time as Hunter in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
with Edwin Francis) as Siegfried
Siegfried (opera)
Siegfried is the third of the four operas that constitute Der Ring des Nibelungen , by Richard Wagner. It received its premiere at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus on 16 August 1876, as part of the first complete performance of The Ring...
, and Norman Bailey as Wotan. The recordings based on this production, with the same artists, are regarded as amongst the finest available, even though they are sung, in accordance with ENO traditions, in English.
In the Glen Byam Shaw
Glen Byam Shaw
Glen Byam Shaw was an English actor and theatre director, known for his dramatic productions in the 1950s and his operatic productions in the 1960s and later....
Ring production, the quality of Hunter's singing and interpretation enabled audiences to set aside her outsize stature (which conformed to all prejudices about Wagnerian sopranos), and few have matched her conviction as Brünnhilde. She made her debut at the New York Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
on December 19, 1972, in Die Walküre
Die Walküre
Die Walküre , WWV 86B, is the second of the four operas that form the cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen , by Richard Wagner...
with great success (conductor Erich Leinsdorf
Erich Leinsdorf
Erich Leinsdorf was a naturalized American Austrian conductor. He performed and recorded with leading orchestras and opera companies throughout the United States and Europe, earning a reputation for exacting standards as well as an acerbic personality...
and Dame Gwyneth Jones as Sieglinde). She performed the Götterdämmerung Brünnhilde at Covent Garden, and also sang the part of Senta there at short notice. Hunter's later performances of Die Walküre in 1975 featured Birgit Nilsson
Birgit Nilsson
right|thumb|Nilsson in 1948.Birgit Nilsson was a celebrated Swedish dramatic soprano who specialized in operatic and symphonic works...
as Sieglinde and were conducted by Sixten Ehrling
Sixten Ehrling
Sixten Ehrling, , was a Swedish conductor who, during a long career, served as the music director of the Royal Swedish Opera and the principal conductor of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, amongst others....
.
She also performed in Wagner and other operas in Munich, Seattle, New Orleans, San Francisco, and with the Welsh National Opera
Welsh National Opera
Welsh National Opera is an opera company founded in Cardiff, Wales in 1943. The WNO tours Wales, the United Kingdom and the rest of the world extensively. Annually, it gives more than 120 performances of eight main stage operas to a combined audience of around 150,000 people...
. In a memorable San Francisco season, she played the roles of Norma
Norma (opera)
Norma is a tragedia lirica or opera in two acts by Vincenzo Bellini with libretto by Felice Romani after Norma, ossia L'infanticidio by Alexandre Soumet. First produced at La Scala on December 26, 1831, it is generally regarded as an example of the supreme height of the bel canto tradition...
and Sieglinde in the same week.
In 1980 she was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(CBE).
In 1981 she moved to Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
and joined the Australian Opera
Opera Australia
Opera Australia is the principal opera company in Australia. Based in Sydney, its performance season at the Sydney Opera House runs for approximately eight months of the year, with the remainder of its time spent in the The Arts Centre in Melbourne...
. In 1986 she published her memoirs, Wait till the sun shines, Nellie. She died in Sydney in 2001, aged 67.
External links
- Rita Hunter Official website