Lynne Dawson

Lynne Dawson (born in York, in 1956) 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, also currently has over seventy-five CDs in her personal recording catalogue and has a varied concert and operatic repertoire. [http://www.imgartists.com/?page=artist&id=84&c=2] , Lynne Dawson: Full Biography, IMG Artists website. URL accessed on 12 May, 2007 ]

Biography

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 [ On This Island, Lynne Dawson, Hyperion Records ] . 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 [On This Island, Lynne Dawson, Hyperion Records ] . 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) [Oxford Concise Dictionary of Music, Michael Kennedy, Oxford University Press] . 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 Princess Diana’s funeral in September 1997. She still continues a busy musical schedule, is a principal study tutor in voice at the Royal Northern College of Music as well as The University of York and is a Professor of Leeds College of Music [http://www.imgartists.com/?page=artist&id=84&c=2] , Lynne Dawson: Full Biography, IMG Artists website. URL accessed on 12 May, 2007 ] .

Vocal career

Dawson has had an extensive and varied music career. Much of her early work was in early music groups, in particular the Hilliard Ensemble and the Deller Consort [ On This Island, Lynne Dawson, Hyperion Records ] and her work in early music, in particular the works of George Frederick Handel, are regarded as being notable contributions to the field [http://www.gramophone.co.uk/gramofilereview.asp?reviewID=200209870&mediaID=203602&issue=Reviewed%3A+Gramophone+6%2F2003] , Review of "My Personal Handel Collection", Stanley Sadie, Gramophone, June 2003 URL accessed on 12 May, 2007 ] . However, in spite of her reputation as a Handel specialist, her repertoire is far more varied - she created the role of 'Mama' in Elliot Carter's opera 'What Next?' and played Ann Truelove in "The Rake's Progress", for instance [http://www.lynnedawson.co.uk/index.html] , Lynne Dawson: Official Website. URL accessed on 12 May, 2007 ] . 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.

elect Discography

CDs

*"L'Orfeo", Monteverdi (with English Baroque Soloists/His Majestys Sagbutts and Cornetts/John Eliot Gardiner), Archiv (1987)

*"Passio", Pärt (with Western Wind Chamber Choir/Paul Hillier), ECM (1988)

*"The Fairy Queen", Purcell (with Les Arts Florissants/William Christie), Harmonia Mundi (1989)

*"Ein Deutsches Requiem", Brahms (with London Classical Players/Roger Norrington), EMI (1993)

*"Messiah", Handel (with Choir of King's College, Cambridge/Brandenburg Consort/Stephen Cleobury), Argo (1994)

*"A Midsummer Night's Dream", Mendelssohn (with Susanne Mentzer/Peter Hall Company/Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra/Jeffrey Tate), EMI (1992)

*"Orfeo ed Euridice", Gluck (with La Grande Ecurie et La Chambre du Roy/Jean-Claude Malgoire), Auvidis (1994)

*"Riders to the Sea", Vaughan Williams (with Northern Sinfonia/Richard Hickox), Chandos (1995)

*"Ariodante", Handel (with Les Musiciens du Louvre/Marc Minkowski), Archiv (1997)

*"Zaïde", Mozart (with Academy of Ancient Music/Paul Goodwin), Harmonia Mundi (1998)

*"On This Island" (with Malcolm Martineau), Hyperion (2001)

*"Dido and Aeneas", Purcell (with Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment/René Jacobs), Harmonia Mundi (2001)

*"Hercules", Handel (with Les Musiciens du Louvre/Marc Minkowski), Archiv (2002)

*"My Personal Handel Collection" (with Lautten Compagney/Wolfgang Katschner), Berlin Classics (2003)

*"Voyage à Paris": Chansons françaises (with Julius Drake), Berlin Classics (2005)

DVDs

*"Messiah" (1993)
*"The Queen" (2006)

References

External links

* [http://www.lynnedawson.co.uk/ Lynne Dawson's Official Website]
* [http://www.imgartists.com/?page=artist&id=84 Lynne Dawson at IMG Artists]
* [http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/artist_page.asp?name=ldawson Lynne Dawson at Hyperion Records]
* [http://members.aol.com/divadawse/index.html Lynne Dawson Fan Site]