Elizabeth Harwood English opera singer, lyric soprano Date of Birth: 27.05.1938 Country: Great Britain

Biography of Elizabeth Harwood

Elizabeth Harwood was born on May 27, 1938, in the village of Barton Seagrave near Kettering. She grew up in Yorkshire and attended Skipton Girls' High School. Her mother, a professional soprano singer known as Constance Read, taught her how to sing. Her father was also a talented conductor.

Harwood continued her education at the Royal Manchester College of Music in 1956. In 1957, she performed with the Buxton Opera Group and sang the role of Michaela in a unique adaptation of Carmen called "Passion Flower." Her performance as Sophie in a student production of Massenet's Werther in 1958 received great acclaim.

At the age of 21, Harwood won the Kathleen Ferrier Memorial Scholarship and spent a year in Milan studying under Lina Pagliughi, one of the most distinguished coloratura sopranos of her generation. She later became one of the winners at the International Verdi Competition in Busseto.

Harwood made her professional operatic debut in 1960 as the Second Boy in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte at Glyndebourne. Critics praised her genuine Mozartean voice with great sensibility, a rarity among English sopranos. In 1961, she joined the Sadler's Wells Theatre company and added roles like Gilda in Rigoletto, Countess Adèle in Le comte Ory, Phyllis in Iolanthe, Countess Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro, Constanze in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos, the title role in Manon, and various coloratura soprano parts in Richard Strauss's works to her repertoire.

In 1965, Harwood took a break and went on a tour to Australia. Upon her return, she joined the English Opera Group. In 1967, she made her debut at Covent Garden as Fiakermilli in Strauss's Arabella and performed with the Scottish Opera from 1967 to 1974.

Although she rarely participated in contemporary opera productions, she made an exception for the role of Bella in Michael Tippett's The Midsummer Marriage. One of her greatest successes was the role of Teresa in Berlioz's Benvenuto Cellini.

Elizabeth Harwood had an extensive repertoire, ranging from Oscar in Un ballo in maschera and Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni to leading roles in Manon and Arabella, as well as Lucia di Lammermoor and Oktavian in Der Rosenkavalier.

Her last opera performance took place in 1983 in Madame Butterfly at Sadler's Wells. Throughout her career, Harwood performed numerous concerts and participated in many oratorios. She sang Handel's Messiah over 100 times, starting at the age of 16.

In 1966, she married Julian A.C. Royle, a publisher of greeting cards, and they had a son named Nicholas Royle. Despite her promising career being cut short by illness, there are many recordings of Elizabeth Harwood's performances. She passed away from cancer at the age of 52 on June 21, 1990.