Jill Gomez

Jill Gomez (born September 21, 1942) is a British soprano.

She was born in British Guiana, raised in Trinidad, and has made her career primarily in Britain. After studying at the Royal Academy of Music and the Guildhall School of Music, both in London, she made her stage debut was as Adina in Donizetti's "L'elisir d'amore" with the Glyndebourne Touring Opera in 1968.

She created the role of Flora in "The Knot Garden", at the Royal Opera, London in 1970, and that of the Countess in Thea Musgrave's "The voice of Ariadne" at the Aldeburgh Festival in (1973). She also appeared in productions by the English National Opera, Scottish Opera, Oper Frankfurt and others. Her roles included Mélisande, Fiordiligi and the Governess.

In 1995 she created the lead role of the Duchess of Argyll in "Powder Her Face". Her recording of the latter role was nominated for a Grammy Award, and in the "All Music Guide" Erik Eriksson wrote, "Gomez's portrayal is a tour de force, alternately opulent and unhinged. She achieves the difficult task of making a figure of ridicule into a person who evokes sympathy from the listener." [Erik Eriksson, [http://wc05.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=41:26390~T1 Jill Gomez Biography] , "All Music Guide", All Media Guide, LLC. (accessed 6 December 2007)]

References

*Warrack, John and West, Ewan (1992), "The Oxford Dictionary of Opera", 782 pages, ISBN 0-19-869164-5