 Felicity
Palmer
Felicity
Palmer is one of the most versatile performing artists singing
today, equally at home in music as diverse as Handel, Wagner
and Berio. She regularly performs throughout the world in opera,
concert and recital.
Her
recent successes include Fricka in 'The Ring' for the Bavarian
State Opera; Klytemnestra in 'Elektra' for La Scala, Milan with
Maestro Sinopoli (also in concert in Japan and Taiwan); Klytemnestra
for the Staatsoper, Berlin with Maestro Barenboim, in Munich
and for the Deutsche Opera, Berlin; Juno in Handel's 'Semele'
and Klytemnestra for The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; Widow
Begbick in 'The Rise and Fall of Mahagonny' for the Opéra
de Paris-Bastille; Ulrica in 'Un Ballo in Maschera' for the
Teatro Bellini, Catania; Mistress Quickly and the Countess in
'Pique Dame' for Glyndebourne Festival Opera; the title role
in 'Orlando' for Aix-en-Provence; Polinesso in 'Ariodante' for
Welsh National Opera; Kabanicha in 'Katya Kabanova' and Widow
Begbick for Lyric Opera, Chicago; Mme de Croissy in 'Les Dialogues
des Carmélites in Geneva and Japan.
Other
performances in recent years include Geneviève in 'Pelléas
et Mélisande' with Simon Rattle for the Netherlands Opera
and more recently at the Bastille; Andromache in 'King Priam'
for the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden - also recorded for
Decca; the Marquise de Birkenfeld in 'La Fille du Régiment'
and the Mother in 'Louise' for San Francisco Opera; Baba the
Turk in 'The Rake's Progress' and the Grandmother in 'The Gambler'
for Lyric Opera, Chicago; Madame de la Halitière in 'Cendrillon'
for Opéra de Monte Carlo; Herodias in 'Salome', Brangäne
in 'Tristan and Isolde' and Adriano in 'Rienzi' for English
National Opera; the title role in 'La Duenna' (Roberto Gerhard)
in Madrid and Barcelona; the title role of 'Orfeo' for Opera
North, England.
Most
recently, Miss Palmer's performances have included Fricka and
Waltraute in Ring cycles and 'Les Dialogues des Carmelites'
at the Metropolitan Opera, New York; the Countess in 'Pique
Dame' in Chicago; Mme de Croissy in 'Les Dialogues des Carmélites'
at the Opera Garnier in Paris, Toulouse and at La Scala Milan
with Riccardo Muti; 'Les Enfants et les Sortileges' at the Opera
Garnier and 'Giulio Cesare' for San Francisco Opera.
Felicity
Palmer has long distinguished herself in concert performances
and highlights include the European première of Sir
Michael Tippett's 'Mask of Time', Elgar's 'Dream of Gerontius'
in Moscow, with Svetlanov, many Handel performances in Vienna
with Nikolaus Harnoncourt and frequent appearances at the
BBC Promenade concerts in London. She has given recitals in
London and throughout Europe and took part in Mahler's Eighth
Symphony with Sinopoli and the RPO and Tippett's 'Mask of
Time' with Sir Andrew Davis and the BBC Symphony Orchestra
for the opening night of the London Promenade concerts, both
in the Royal Albert Hall, London.
She
has made many recordings, including Stravinsky's 'Le Rossignol'
and Messiaen's 'Poèmes pour Mi' with Pierre Boulez,
vocal music by Benjamin Britten for EMI and two records of
Victorian and Edwardian songs with John Constable.
Future
engagements include 'Pique Dame', and 'Pelleas et Melisande'
at the Metropolitan Opera, New York; 'Elektra' and 'Sweeney
Todd' at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden: Handel's 'Rodelinda'
at the Bayerische Staatsoper, Munich; 'Gianni Schicchi' for
Glyndebourne Festival Opera and 'Les Dialogues des Carmelites',
'War and Peace' and 'Elektra' for the Paris Opera.
In
addition to her concert and operatic work, Felicity Palmer
is now working privately with a growing number of young professional
singers in London. She also gives masterclasses in Europe
and the USA as well as continuing to contribute as and when
she can to the work of the music colleges in England.
Felicity
Palmer was made a CBE in November 1993. |
