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Lynne Dawson

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Lynne Dawson
Born (1953-06-03) 3 June 1953 (age 71)
York, England
Education
Occupations
Organizations

Lynne Dawson (born 3 June 1953) is an English soprano. She came to great prominence through her performance as a soloist in Libera me from Verdi's Requiem with the BBC Singers at Princess Diana's funeral in September 1997. Lynne Dawson has recorded over seventy-five CDs and has a varied concert and operatic repertoire.[1]

Biography

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Born in York and growing up in Yorkshire, Dawson fully expected to continue the farming tradition of her family, and indeed singing was not her first career; she first worked in industry as a translator.[2] However, later she studied at both the Guildhall School of Music and Britten–Pears School in Suffolk, where her teachers included Rae Woodland, Gerald Moore and Peter Pears.[2] Her time as a music student, however, was limited as she soon obtained enough professional work to embark upon a career and made her operatic debut in 1986 as the Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro (Kent Opera).[3] Dawson's position as one of England's most versatile and popular sopranos was confirmed by her performance as a soloist in "Libera me" from Verdi's Requiem with the BBC Singers at the Funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales in September 1997. She still continues a busy musical schedule, is head of vocal and opera studies at the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) as well as the University of York and is a Professor of Leeds College of Music.[1]

Personal life

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Dawson has two children, and was married during the 1980s, but the couple separated. She continues to sing often; however, her main focus is her role as Head of Vocal Studies and Opera at RNCM.

Vocal career

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Dawson has had an extensive and varied music career. Much of her early work was in early music groups, in particular the Hilliard Ensemble[check: Tallis Scholars?] and the Deller Consort[4] and her work in early music, in particular the works of George Frideric Handel, are regarded as being notable contributions to the field.[5] However, in spite of her reputation as a Handel specialist, her repertoire is far more varied – she created the role of 'Mama' in Elliott Carter's opera What Next? and played Ann Truelove in The Rake's Progress, for instance.[6] Her concert repertoire, oratorio roles and recording catalogue are no less impressive having appeared alongside acclaimed singers and conductors alike. She has released three highly acclaimed solo recital discs – My Personal Handel Collection, On This Island and Voyage à Paris.

Selected recordings

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CDs

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DVDs

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  • Messiah (1993)
  • The Queen (2006)

References

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  1. ^ a b Lynne Dawson: Full Biography Archived 9 December 2018 at the Wayback Machine, IMG Artists website. Retrieved 12 May 2007
  2. ^ a b On This Island, Lynne Dawson, Hyperion Records
  3. ^ Oxford Concise Dictionary of Music, Michael Kennedy, Oxford University Press
  4. ^ Lynne Dawson On This Island, Hyperion Records
  5. ^ Review of "My Personal Handel Collection"[permanent dead link‍], Stanley Sadie, Gramophone, June 2003. Retrieved 12 May 2007
  6. ^ Lynne Dawson: official website Archived 12 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 12 May 2007
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