Wednesday, November 02, 2005

Yvonne Minton

Yvonne Minton

Yvonne Minton (born December 4, 1938) is an Australian opera singer. She is variously billed as a soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto.

She was born in Sydney and studied voice on a scholarship at the Sidney Conservatory. She won the National Eisteddfod in Canberra, as well as number other competitions. She became one of the country's leading contraltos, appearing often on radio and television and with the Sydney and Queensland orchestras.

Ms. Minton left Australia in 1961 to pursue her studies in London. The same year, she won the Kathleen Ferrier Prize for the best contralto at the International Vocalist Competition at s’Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands. Her first major part in England was as Maggie Dempster in the premiere of Nicholas Maw's One Man Show.

Shortly thereafter, she became a regular member of the company of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden. She has since appeared with most of the major English orchestras and in opera houses throughout Europe and the United States. She has also appeared at Bayreuth and the Salzburg Festival. In 1972, she made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Octavian in Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier.



No comments: