Ava June joined the Opera in 1953 and switched from a mezzo to soprano on the persuasion of her teacher Clive Carey.
17 Facts About Ava June
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Ava June rejoined Sadler's Wells Opera seven years later and made her first performance in the United States in 1974 with the San Francisco Opera.
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Ava June taught with various musical organisations and brought her opera experience to directing productions until 1999.
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Ava June was born Ava June Wiggins on 23 July 1931 at the East End Maternity Home, Commercial Road, in Stepney, East London.
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In 1953, when she adopted the stage name Ava June, she joined the Sadler's Wells Opera chorus.
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Ava June won the Queen's Prize at the Royal College of Music in 1955.
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When Fidelio returned the next year under Rudolf Schwarz, Ava June sang Marcellina and repeated this performance in 1960 but with Colin Davis as the conductor.
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Clive Carey 8.
Also in 1960, Ava June participated in a production of Georges Bizet's Les pecheurs de perles with the tenor Charles Craig.
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Ava June sang Butterfly under Mario Bernardi towards the conclusion of 1964.
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Ava June was united with her mentor Joan Cross the next year and reprised her 1965 performance of The Marriage of Figaro but with the Phoenix Opera.
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Ava June rejoined Sadlers' Wells Opera in 1970 as a member of the London Coliseum ensemble.
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Ava June made her first appearance in The Proms in 1970 by performing in Das Rheingold with Georg Solti as the conductor.
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Ava June sang opposite Don Garrard as Judith in Bluebeard's Castle and then played Queen Elizabeth in Benjamin Britten's Gloriana in 1972.
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Ava June made her first appearance in the United States in 1974 as Ellen Orford in a production of Britten's Peter Grimes with the San Francisco Opera, and toured Germany and Eastern Europe.
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Ava June created and played Countess Vronskaya in the world premiere of Iain Hamilton's Anna Karenina in 1981.
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Ava June retired from signing in 1984 after losing her voice and moved from Kensington to a quieter location in Twickenham Green.
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Ava June died at Kingston Hospital, London from sepsis brought about by an infection and pneumonia on 22 February 2013 at the age of 81.