Josephine Veasey

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Josephine Veasey (born on July 10, 1930) is a British mezzo-soprano, particularly associated with Wagner and Berlioz roles.

[edit] Life and career

Born in Peckham, she studied with Audrey Langford, and became a member of the Royal Opera House chorus in 1949, she made her debut as a soloist in 1955, as the Shepherd Boy in Tannhäuser, followed by Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro, later roles included: Dorabella, Marina, Preziosilla, Eboli, Amneris, Carmen, etc. Beginning in 1957, she became a regular guest at the Glyndebourne Festival, notably as Charlotte and Octavian.

Noticed and encouraged by Georg Solti, she began adding Wagner roles to her repertoire, notably: Waltraute, Fricka, Brangäne, Venus, Kundry. Under Colin Davis 's guidance, she also became an illustrious interperter of Berlioz 's works, singing both Didon and Cassandre in Les Troyens, and Marguerite in La Damnation de Faust, which she also recorded for him.

On the international scene, she appeared at the Paris Opera, the Aix-en-Provence Festival, at La Scala in Milan, the Vienna State Opera, the Salzburg Festival, the Metropolitan Opera, and the San Francisco Opera.

In 1962, she created the role of Helen in Michael Tippett 's King Priam, and in 1976 created The Emperor in Hans Werner Henze 's We Come to the River.

Although not associated with the bel canto repertoire, she recorded in 1966, the role of Agnese in Beatrice di Tenda, opposite Joan Sutherland and Luciano Pavarotti, under Richard Bonynge, and appeared as Adalgisa in Norma, opposite Montserrat Caballé and Jon Vickers, in the famous production at the Théâtre Antique d'Orange in 1974, which has been released on DVD.

She also won considerable acclaim as Dido in Purcell 's Dido and Aeneas, which she also recorded with Colin Davis. She retired from the stage in 1982, her last performance was as Massenet 's Hérodiade.

Josephine Veasey was one of the finest British mezzo of the postwar period, having a beautiful ringing voice and a strong stage presence.

[edit] Sources

• Le Dictionaire des interprètes, Alain Pâris, (Éditions Robert Laffont, 1989), ISBN 2-221-06660-X
• The Oxford Dictionary of Opera, by John Warrack and Ewan West (1992), ISBN 0-19-869164-5