Heather Thomson (soprano)

Last updated

Heather Thomson (born December 7, 1940) is a Canadian soprano.

Born in Vancouver, Thomson studied from 1954 until 1961 with Phylis Inglis, in the latter year winning a prize at the CBC Talent Festival. [1] She underwent further studies at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, and debuted as the Dew Fairy in Hansel and Gretel with the Canadian Opera Company in 1962. The following season she sang Mimi for the same company, with which she continued to appear throughout her career in roles such as Marguerite, Tatiana, and Heloise in the premiere of Charles Wilson's Heloise and Abelard in 1973. She debuted at Sadler's Wells in 1966. [2] In 1969 she bowed at the New York City Opera as Marguerite. A finalist in the Metropolitan Opera regional auditions in 1961, she was a winner at the 1964 San Francisco Opera auditions. Later in her career Thomson lived in Connecticut and taught voice. She is married to the American tenor Perry Price; [1] their son, Stephen, is a musical theatre performer. She has also taught at the University of British Columbia. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leontyne Price</span> American soprano (born 1927)

Mary Violet Leontyne Price is an American spinto soprano who was the first African American soprano to receive international acclaim. From 1961 she began a long association with the Metropolitan Opera, where she was the first African American to be a leading performer. She regularly appeared at the world's major opera houses, including the Royal Opera House, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and La Scala; at La Scala, she was also the first African American to sing a leading role. She was particularly renowned for her performances of the title role in Verdi's Aida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pierrette Alarie</span> Canadian operatic singer

Pierrette Alarie, was a French Canadian coloratura soprano. She was married to the French-Canadian tenor Léopold Simoneau.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teresa Stratas</span> Canadian-American operatic soprano

Teresa Stratas is an operatic soprano and actress from Canada of Greek descent. She is especially well known for her award-winning recording of Alban Berg's Lulu. She has now formally retired.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phyllis Curtin</span> American operatic soprano

Phyllis Curtin was an American soprano and academic teacher who had an active career in operas and concerts from the early 1950s through the 1980s. She is known for her creation of roles in operas by Carlisle Floyd, such as the title role in Susannah and Catherine Earnshaw in Wuthering Heights. She was a dedicated song recitalist, who retired from singing in 1984. She was named Boston University's Dean Emerita, College of Fine Arts in 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Régine Crespin</span> French singer

Régine Crespin was a French singer who had a major international career in opera and on the concert stage between 1950 and 1989. She started her career singing roles in the dramatic soprano and spinto soprano repertoire, drawing particular acclaim singing Wagner and Strauss heroines. She went on to sing a wider repertoire that embraced Italian, French, German, and Russian opera from a variety of musical periods. In the early 1970s Crespin began experiencing vocal difficulties for the first time and ultimately began performing roles from the mezzo-soprano repertoire. Throughout her career she was widely admired for the elegance, warmth and subtlety of her singing, especially in the French and German operatic repertories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margaret Price</span> Welsh operatic soprano

Dame Margaret Berenice Price was a Welsh soprano.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sondra Radvanovsky</span> American and Canadian soprano (born 1969)

Sondra Dee Radvanovsky is an American and Canadian soprano. Specializing in 19th-century Italian opera, Radvanovsky is widely regarded as a leading interpreter of bel canto, verismo, and works by Giuseppe Verdi. She repertoire includes the title roles in Médée, Norma, Tosca, and Rusalka, Leonora in Il trovatore, Lady Macbeth in Macbeth, and Donizetti's "Tudor Queens": the title roles in Anna Bolena, Maria Stuarda, and Elizabeth I in Roberto Devereux.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harolyn Blackwell</span> American opera singer and actress

Harolyn Blackwell is an American lyric coloratura soprano who has performed in many of the world's finest opera houses, concert halls, and theaters in operas, oratorios, recitals, and Broadway musicals. Initially known for her work within musical theater during the early 1980s, Blackwell moved into the field of opera and by 1987 had established herself as an artist within the soubrette repertoire in many major opera houses both in the United States and in Europe. Feeling that she was being "type cast" into one particular kind of role, Blackwell strove to establish herself within the lyric coloratura repertoire beginning in the mid-1990s. With the aid of such companies as Seattle Opera, Blackwell successfully made this move and is now an interpreter of such roles as Lucia in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor and Olympia in Offenbach's Les contes d'Hoffman. She has also periodically returned to musical theater performances throughout her career in staged productions, concert work, and recitals. Blackwell is known for her interpretations and recordings of the works of Leonard Bernstein.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Winifred Lawson</span> English singer and actress (1892–1961)

Winifred Lawson was an English opera and concert singer in the first half of the 20th century. She is particularly remembered for her performances in the soprano roles in the Gilbert and Sullivan operas as a member of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company between 1922 and 1932.

Colette Boky , is a French-Canadian operatic soprano, particularly associated with lyric roles in the French, Italian, and German repertories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marguerite Sylva</span>

Marguerite Sylva was a Belgian born mezzo-soprano who achieved fame in opera, operetta, and musical theatre. She was particularly known for her performances in the title role of Bizet's Carmen, which she sang over 300 times in the course of her career. Sylva was a pioneering recording artist for Edison Records and made many recordings for the company from 1910 to 1912.

Lois Jeanette McDonall is a Canadian operatic soprano, especially known for her performances in the operas of Mozart and Donizetti.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dorothy Sarnoff</span> American actress

Dorothy Sarnoff was an American operatic soprano, musical theatre actress, and self-help guru. She had an active performing career from the late 1930s through the 1950s, during which time she sang in several operas with the New York City Opera and created several roles on Broadway, most notably Lady Thiang in the original 1951 cast of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The King and I.

Eva Likova was an American operatic soprano of Czech descent. She was notably one of the major sopranos at the New York City Opera during the company's early years. She also made guest appearances with a number of opera houses in North America and Europe, enjoying a particularly fruitful partnership with the Philadelphia Grand Opera Company. After retiring from the opera stage in 1966, she embarked on a second career as a voice teacher.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michelle DeYoung</span> American opera singer

Michelle DeYoung is an American classical vocalist who has an active international career performing in operas and concerts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kay Griffel</span> Operatic spinto soprano

Kay Griffel is an American operatic spinto soprano.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alice Zeppilli</span> French operatic singer

Alice Zeppilli was a French operatic soprano of Italian heritage who had an active international singing career from 1901 to 1930. The pinnacle of her career was in the United States where she enjoyed great popularity between 1906 and 1914; particularly in the cities of Chicago, New York, and Philadelphia. She was popular in Monte Carlo where she performed frequently from 1904–19 and later worked as a singing teacher after her retirement from the stage. She made only one recording, a phonograph cylinder for Columbia Records consisting of the Gavotte from Jules Massenet's Manon and Olympia's Doll Aria from Jacques Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffmann.

Polyna Savridi was an American operatic soprano and voice teacher. As a singer she was primarily active on the international stage during the 1960s, and only performed infrequently afterwards. She taught briefly on the voice faculties of Columbia University and the Jacobs School of Music during the early 1960s before settling at the University of Calgary where she was a professor of voice from 1963 until her death from cancer seventeen years later. She is best remembered for her recordings of Greek folk songs for Concord Records and as a winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.

Claudia Pinza Bozzolla was an Argentine-American operatic soprano, vocal coach, and voice teacher of Italian origin. As a singer she performed in operas throughout Italy and the United States, including appearances at La Scala, the Metropolitan Opera, and the San Francisco Opera.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marguerite Dunlap</span> American opera singer (1887–1959)

Marguerite Dunlap was an American contralto opera singer. She is mainly remembered for her recordings for Victor Records from 1904–1928. She recorded a wide range of music from operas to Broadway musicals to sacred music, popular music, and songs from the classical concert repertoire.

References

  1. 1 2 Chusid, Harvey. "Heather Thomson" . Retrieved 18 September 2017.
  2. Leslie Orrey; Gilbert Chase (September 1976). The Encyclopedia of opera. Scribner. ISBN   9780684136301.
  3. "Stephen Price: From Danbury to Vegas". 19 May 2006. Retrieved 18 September 2017.