This is the week of...

... the 20th Anniversary of Elizabeth Harwood's death (22nd June 1990)

                 
                                                 (Ref: EH/7/2/2)                                                                                                            (Ref: EH/7/2/1)

(Ref: EH/7/2/1)

Elizabeth Harwood was born on 27 May 1938, and studied at the Royal Manchester College of Music between 1956 and 1960. Her first opera appearance away from College was for the Buxton Opera Group in 1957 as Michaela in Passion Flower, an adaptation of Carmen.

Elizabeth married Julian A.C. Royle in 1966 and they had one son, Nicholas. The family lived at Fryerning, Ingatestone, Essex, where a plaque is dedicated to Elizabeth Harwood in the parish church following her death on June 22 1990.

In tribute, The Musical Times wrote, "Elizabeth Harwood's lovely, warm voice, with its effortless production and evenness throughout a remarkable range, was matched by her level-headed approach to the world of opera and the generous nature of her personality." Janet Baker, fellow opera singer, paid her this tribute: "Elizabeth was the most beloved of my colleagues, a beautiful person in every way. Her art lit up the stage."

The Elizabeth Harwood Memorial Award for Singers is given every year by the Royal Northern College of Music. Set up in Elizabeth’s name, the prize helps aspiring singers become established upon the stage, or continue their studies. The competition's rules require the singer to present a 15 to 20 minute programme which must include a Mozart item, Elisabeth’s particular love and speciality. Past winners, like other RNCM alumni, now appear on many operatic, concert and oratorio stages around the world.

This is the week that...

... Elizabeth Harwood was born (27th May 1938)

English Opera Group production of Acis and Galatea at

the Aldeburgh Festival, 1966. Elizabeth as Galatea (Ref: EH/7/1/1)

                          Elizabeth Harwood, 1964 (Ref: EH/7/2/1)                     Elizabeth Harwood (Ref: EH/7/2/1)

Elizabeth Harwood was born on 27 May 1938, and studied at the Royal Manchester College of Music between 1956 and 1960. Her first opera appearance away from College was for the Buxton Opera Group in 1957 as Michaela in Passion Flower, an adaptation of Carmen.

 She enjoyed over two decades as an operatic singer, working with conductors such as Colin Davis and Herbert von Karajan. It was under von Karajan that she became the first English soprano to perform at the Salzburg Festival in The Marriage of Figaro, a role which she would reprise in many subsequent festivals. Elizabeth's last operatic performance was for The Buxton Festival in La Colombe, 1983.   

Elizabeth married Julian A.C. Royle in 1966 and they had one son, Nicholas. The family lived at Fryerning, Ingatestone, Essex, where a plaque is dedicated to Elizabeth Harwood in the parish church following her death on June 22 1990.

Tuesday Titbit

Elizabeth Harwood

                                          Italian Exercise book EH12/5/1

Elizabeth Harwood, the noted English soprano, studied at the Royal Manchester College of Music between 1956 and 1960. The RNCM has a large collection of programmes and cuttings relating to Elizabeth Harwood’s career which were collected by her father and later by her husband: the collection also includes some of Elizabeth’s personal papers.

The above picture shows Elizabeth’s Italian exercise book from her studies at the college in 1956, when she was eighteen years old. Her knowledge of Italian would have been useful throughout her career as an opera singer.