Wagner in Tasmania

by Deborah Humble
by Deborah Humble

 

While crowds of Wagner supporters flock to Melbourne for the three Ring cycles, the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra and soloists stole a march on proceedings, with its own curtain-raiser – excelling in a dramatically astounding performance of Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde. Mezzo Deborah Humble again found herself in the audience, pen in hand, this time drawing Sydney into the Wagner celebrations, with this review for Sounds Like Sydney …

“Take the scenery, costumes and action away from drama designed for the operatic stage and you are simply left with the music itself. Wagner’s epic scores are entirely capable of speaking for themselves, but for a concert performance of Tristan and Isolde to be successful (even when presented as an abridged version), singers and musicians of exceptional ability are required.

“Nina Stemme (soprano), Stuart Skelton (tenor) and Monika Bohinec (mezzo-soprano) together with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra directed by Chief Conductor and Artistic Director Marko Letonja managed to present a world-class evening of music to a sold out auditorium at Hobart’s Federation Hall on Saturday evening.”

Read the full article.

Mezzo-Soprano Deborah Humble is one of Australia’s best-known and most successful opera singers, and your guide to the 2016 Wagner Ring Cycle in Melbourne.

After gaining a Bachelor of Music from the University of Adelaide and a Masters Degree from the University of Melbourne Deborah was a member of the Victoria State Opera Young Artist Programme. Having been a Principal Artist for both Opera Australia and The State Opera of Hamburg she has embarked upon a freelance career which takes her all over the world.

Recognised internationally for her performances of Verdi and Wagner, Deborah’s recent engagements include Erda in Das Rheingold with the Hong Kong Philharmonic, Brangaene in Tristan and Isolde with the Mexico City Symphony, Amneris in Aida for Opera Australia, Alisa in Lucia di Lamermoor for the Theatro Mario del Monaco in Treviso, Erda in Siegfried for the Boston Symphony, Verdi’s Requiem at the Sage Concert Hall in the UK, Mahler’s Symphony No 8 at the Esplanade Theatre in Singapore, Elgar’s The Kingdom for the Melbourne Bach Choir and Ring Cycles in Hamburg, Halle, Bari, Ludwigshafen and Melbourne.

Future engagements include Mary in The Flying Dutchman with Opera Lille, Erda in Siegfried with the Hong Kong Philharmonic, recorded for Naxos, Venus in Tannhauser in Edinburgh and concert engagements in Auckland and Perth.

Her recordings include Clarissa in The Love for Three Oranges with Opera Australia for Chandos, a complete Der Ring des Nibelungen with the Hamburg State Opera released on the Oehms label, Offenbach’s La Belle Helene with the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris for Deutsche Gramophone and Mozart’s Il Sogno di Scipione for EMI.

Deborah was a recipient of Australia’s prestigious Dame Joan Sutherland Scholarship, a finalist in the 2008 International Wagner Competition in Seattle, and was recently included in the Who’s Who of Australian Women. This year Deborah returned to Australia to act as a mentor in The Dame Nellie Melba Trust Programme for young opera singers and to adjudicate The City of Sydney Eisteddfod Opera Aria Scholarship.

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