Sylvia Gwendoline Victoria Fisher was an Australian operatic soprano whose stage career was made in England, who was especially distinguished in German opera, and who created the role of Miss Wingrave in Benjamin Britten's Owen Wingrave in 1971.
10 Facts About Sylvia Fisher
1.
2.
Sylvia Fisher was born in a private hospital in South Melbourne on 18 April 1910 to John and Margaret Maria Sylvia Fisher.
3.
Sylvia Fisher studied the piano from the age of nine, and afterwards entered the Albert Street Conservatorium for singing and voice production and obtained the full diploma.
4.
Sylvia Fisher made her debut as a student in Lully's Cadmus et Hermione at the Comedy Theatre, Melbourne, on 5 March 1932, at the Lully Tercentenary Festival.
5.
Sylvia Fisher established herself as a fine lieder and oratorio singer in Australia.
6.
Sylvia Fisher joined the Covent Garden resident company in 1948 and rapidly gained approval.
7.
In March 1954, Sylvia Fisher married Ubaldo Gardini, an Italian-born violinist who worked at Covent Garden as an Italian language coach.
8.
In 1958, Sylvia Fisher left Covent Garden after a dispute with director Rafael Kubelik.
9.
Sylvia Fisher visited Australia, performed in the United States, then returned to England where she worked for Covent Garden's rival, the Sadler's Wells Opera Company from 1962 to 1973.
10.
Sylvia Fisher appeared as soloist with the leading choral societies and orchestras, and at music festivals, under the batons of Sir Thomas Beecham, Sir John Barbirolli and Sir Malcolm Sargent.