Eilene Hannan
Eilene Hannan
Career
Eilene Hannan was born in
She joined the Australian Opera in 1971 appearing first as Barbarina in Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro[4] and Gilbert and Sullivan. In 1973 she created the role of Natasha Rostova in the Australian premiere of Sergei Prokofiev's opera War and Peace, the opera chosen as the inaugural production at the Sydney Opera House.[2] Conductors and directors under whom she worked at the Australian Opera included Sir Edward Downes, Sir Mark Elder, Carlo Felice Cillario, Richard Bonynge, Sir John Pritchard, Sam Wanamaker, John Copley and Sir Jonathan Miller.[2]
Hannan moved to London in 1977, and sang Salome in Massenet's Hérodiade at that year's Wexford Festival in Ireland.[5] Her British debut was at the Glyndebourne Festival in the title role of Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen.[4] Under Sir Mark Elder and the English National Opera, which she joined in 1978, she sang Lauretta in Kurt Weill's The Seven Deadly Sins, Pamina in The Magic Flute, where her bell-like purity of tone and her intelligent phrasing came in for special critical approval,[4] and Mimi in Puccini's La bohème, which also attracted superlative reviews.[5] With ENO, Eilene Hannan recorded the female title role in an English-language production of Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande in 1981 (available on DVD).[2][6] She also sang Natasha in London, and also at the Metropolitan Opera, New York during ENO's 1984 tour.[1][7] Another triumph was the 1986 production of Dvořák's Rusalka under director David Pountney (available on DVD).[1]
She made her
She regularly sang with
Her work continued both at home and internationally, singing under conductors such as Sir Charles Mackerras, Sir Simon Rattle and Pierre Boulez. In 1989 she sang Hero in Berlioz's Béatrice et Bénédict with Opera North.[5]
Growing dissatisfied with the life of a singer, she trained and worked as a counsellor, an interest she had long held,[3] but she later rediscovered her passion for singing and carried on a dual career. In the 1990s she toured Australia as the Mother Abbess in The Sound of Music.[2]
In the Queen's Birthday Honours of 1994, she was appointed a
In the later part of her working life Hannan was a noted English and French language dialect coach, and conducted master classes for the Dame Nellie Melba Opera Trust.[1][6]
After the deaths of her parents, whom she nursed in their dying years, she returned to London to work as a mentor to younger singers at Covent Garden. Soon after, she was diagnosed with inoperable cervical cancer[4] and died in London on 11 July 2014, aged 67. A public memorial service was held at the Melbourne Recital Centre on 10 August.[14]
Family and personal life
Her father
Her elder sister Judith married Guy Boileau, later Sir Guy Boileau, 8th Baronet. Lady Boileau died on 9 August 2014, less than a month after Eilene. She also had two older brothers, Peter and Michael.
Eilene Hannan was the partner of the cellist Nathan Waks for a period in the 1970s.[2] In England in 1980 she married Phillip Thomas, a Welsh pianist with ENO.[3] They later divorced.[4]
References
- ^ a b c d e Clive Paget, "Eilene Hannan has died".Limelight, 14 July 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2014
- ^ a b c d e f g h David Marr, "Soprano loved for ruthless wit and 'God-given' voice". Sydney Morning Herald, 26 July 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2014
- ^ a b c Anna Murdoch, "Singer returns to her first choice".The Age, 3 April 1989. Retrieved 15 October 2014
- ^ a b c d e f g Barry Millington, "Eileen Hannan Obituary". The Guardian, 1 August 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2014
- ^ a b c Michael Quinn, "Obituary: Eilene Hannan". The Stage. Retrieved 15 October 2014
- ^ a b Melba Opera Trust Archived 18 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 15 October 2014
- ^ "ENO Remembers Soprano Eilene Hannan 1946-2014". Retrieved 15 October 2014
- ^ Julie Houghton, "A Tribute to Eilene Hannan". Mietta Song Competition, 4 August 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2014
- ^ "Victoria State Opera – la Boheme 1985". 16 June 2013.
- ^ "Victoria State Opera – Tannhäuser 1989". 15 June 2013.
- ^ "Major Directing Credits". Richard Cottrell. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
- ^ Matthew Westwood, "Opera world mourns former OA singer". The Australian, 15 July 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2014
- ^ "Miss Eilene Hannan". It's an Honour. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
- ^ Melbourne Recital Centre Archived 13 August 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 15 October 2014