Elizabeth Forbes (musicologist)
Elizabeth Forbes (3 August 1924 – 22 October 2014) was an English
Life and career
Born in
Forbes began her career as a journalist in the early 1970s working as an opera critic for the Financial Times; working with Andrew Porter and later Ronald Crichton. She quickly reoriented her career towards working full time as a critic and writer on opera for several periodicals in addition to her regular work for the Financial Times. These included working as a foreign correspondent for the magazines Opera Canada, Opera News and Opera International; and writing for the UK based magazine Opera on whose governing board she was a member. She also penned more than 100 obituaries for The Independent on people connected to opera.[1] She remained active as a writer until 2013 when a series of strokes impacted her ability to continue.[1]
Forbes was the author of numerous books on various subjects related to opera, including her 1985 work, Mario and Grisi, which details the lives of opera singers
She died on 22 October 2014.[1] She never married and never had children, but lived with her partner, Harry Lyons.[1]
Partial list of works
Books
- Elizabeth Forbes (1977). Opera from A to Z. Kaye & Ward. ISBN 9780498020469.
- Elizabeth Forbes (1982). The Observer's Book of Opera. Warne. ISBN 9780723216384.
- Elizabeth Forbes (1985). Mario and Grisi: A Biography. V. Gollancz. ISBN 9780575036062.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Elaine Padmore (19 November 2014). "Elizabeth Forbes: Musicologist and critic who translated librettos and wrote nearly 100 obituaries for 'The Independent'". The Independent.
- ISBN 0-948875-53-4