Fiona Janes

Fiona Janes (born in Sydney, Australia on 28 December 1964) is an Australian mezzo-soprano and arts administrator. She began her operatic career as a principal artist with Opera Australia in 1988 and resigned in 2005, disappointed with her role in the organisation. She has worked in the UK and Europe as well as Australia, and in 2010 she became the general manager and artistic director of the Joan Sutherland & Richard Bonynge Foundation.[1] She has won various awards and made a several recordings, including DVDs for Opera Australia.

Fiona Janes
Born (1964-12-28) 28 December 1964
Sydney
NationalityAustralian

Early years and training

Educated at Killara High School and Pittwater High School, she studied ballet and violin before taking up singing lessons privately at the age of 15 with Margaret Garrett and then Valerie Collins-Varga at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

In 1986 she was awarded the George Sautelle Prize for outstanding potential, and came second in the 32nd Shell Aria contest at the Canberra School of Music.[2] That same year she won "The Mathy" prize at the Australian Singing Competition (ASC).[3] Within a year she appeared in a radio concert with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra under David Agler,[4] Thank to her ASC win, she was able to undertake further studies in London and Europe[3] and on her return, was engaged by Australian Opera, and was one of eight artists chosen to perform highlights of opera and operetta in the Great Hall at the opening of the new Parliament House, Canberra.[5] In that year she was appointed principal artist.[6]

In the following years she played Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro,[7] reprised at the Canberra Festival,[8] and Dorabella in Così fan tutte to Yvonne Kenny's Fioriligi.[9]

She won a Green Room award for her role in Norma (2004).[6] her last with OA; in 2005 Richard Hickox was appointed music director, and apparently blacklisted Janes and others.[6]

In January 2008 Janes and bass-baritone Bruce Martin left Opera Australia. She penned a letter to the board, complaining that the company had slid into a "sea of mediocrity",[6] criticisms echoed by Martin, who said "The board is not interested in what she has to say. They simply want her to be quiet."[10] The letter was published by the Herald, leading to schisms and accusations that under Gordon Fell the board had become a self-satisfied social clique.[6] Martin, who felt that a Chandos recording of Rusalka under Hickox' direction deliberately falsified his voice, accused the board of nepotism and cronyism.[11]

Hickox died from a heart attack late that year. Fell was replaced by Ziggy Switkowski and many older board members retired. Lyndon Terracini, an Australian, was appointed artistic director. Improvements were made, but not enough for Janes. Experienced singers were being overlooked in preference for younger ones who were satisfied with lower remuneration (but conversely she bemoaned the number of young talented singers going overseas for opportunities).[6]

With a lighter work schedule, Janes spend more time mentoring younger singers. She was the artistic co-ordinator for the Joan Sutherland Society of Sydney, and acted as adjudicator for the Herald Sun Aria competition.[6]

She worked as a secretary for Opera Australia from 1984 to 1987. She spent 1987 in London, studying singing privately with Vida Harford and numerous vocal coaches before joining Opera Australia's Young Artists Programme in 1988. She continued her vocal studies throughout her career working with such teachers and coaches as Sena Jurinac, György Fischer, Ernest St John Metz, Rita Loving and David Harper.

Career

Janes made her principal role debut at Opera Australia as the understudy for Mercedes in Carmen at the age of 24. Her first official role was a few weeks later as Annio in Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito in the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall with Sir Christopher Hogwood conducting, also for Opera Australia. Other roles for that company included, Adalgisa in Norma, Angelina and Tisbe in La Cenerentola, Donna Elvira and Zerlina in Don Giovanni, Mercedes in Carmen, Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Sesto in Giulio Cesare, Isabella in L'italiana in Algieri, Composer in Ariadne auf Naxos, Dorabella in Cosi fan tutte, Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro, Annio and Sesto in La Clemenza di Tito, Lola in Cavalleria Rusticana, Mistress Quickly in Falstaff, Lake Lost with Baz Luhrmann, Whitsunday with Neil Armfeld and the roles Javotte in Manon, Kate Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly and Tessa in The Gondoliers. She has also appeared as a soloist in Opera Australia's Bellini Gala & New Year's Eve Gala with Simone Young, A New Year's Eve Gala with Richard Bonynge and the 50th Anniversary Gala in 2006.

In 1992 she moved to London to pursue an international career in Europe often returning to Australia performing with all the major opera companies and orchestras.

Other performances have included: Siebel in Faust for Victoria State Opera and Opera Queensland, Nero in Agrippina at the Buxton Festival, U.K., Rosina for Netherlands Opera, English National Opera and Welsh National Opera, Second Lady in The Magic Flute and Meg in Falstaff for English National Opera, Sesto in La Clemenza di Tito for Glyndebourne Touring Opera, Bertarido in Rodelinda for Joan Sutherland & Richard Bonynge Foundation, Adalgisa in Norma for West Australian Opera, Idamante in Idomeneo for Flanders Philhamonic in Antwerp, Margherite in Damnation of Faust for Royal Scottish National Orchestra and Lyric Opera of Queensland, Ascanio in Les Trojans for London Symphony Orchestra with Sir Colin Davis, Angelina at the Semperoper Dresden and Opera New Zealand and Scitalce in Meyerbeer's Semiramide for the Rossini Festival in Germany with Richard Bonynge. She has also worked for the Royal Opera House Covent Garden on La Cenerentola and Il barbiere di Siviglia and Scottish Opera on Le nozze di Figaro.

Janes has sung in concert with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Australian Chamber Orchestra, Adelaide Symphony, West Australian Symphony, Tasmanian Symphony, Queensland Symphony, Sydney Philharmonia Choirs, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, the London, Flanders, Bournemouth and Nottingham Philharmonic Orchestras, the National Orchestra of Spain in Madrid, New Zealand Symphony, Opera North, Melbourne Chamber Orchestra, Huntington Estate and at the Edinburgh Festival with Sir Charles Mackerras. Her concert repertoire includes: Verdi Requiem, Dream of Gerontius, Mahler's Symphony No.2, Beethoven 9th Symphony, Mass in C and Missa Solemnis, Mozart Requiem, Rossini Stabat Mater, St Matthew Passion, Schubert Mass in A Flat and Coronation Mass, Handel's L'Allegro il Penseroso ed il Moderato and Messiah, Berlioz Romeo et Juliette and Stravinsky's Pulcinella. In 2004, she was invited to perform at Australia House in London for the Tate Memorial Trust, conducted by Richard Bonynge in the presence of H.R.H. The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwell. Throughout her performing career she has performed in concert for numerous charities including for Opera Australia, Aids research, Deaf & Blind Charity and Children's Hospital, Joan Sutherland & Richard Bonynge Foundation, Tait Memorial Trust in London.

Joan Sutherland & Richard Bonynge Foundation

Janes is the Artistic Director, General Manager and a founding Director of the Joan Sutherland & Richard Bonynge Foundation, a Sydney based charity that provides scholarships for young singers. She created of the Joan Sutherland & Richard Bonynge Bel Canto Award in 2011, one of Australia's major operatic singing competitions.

In 2012, she was asked by the South African soprano Elizabeth Connell, prior to her death, to create a scholarship in her name and to be a founding Trustee for the Elizabeth Connell Scholarship Trust. Janes created the Elizabeth Connell International Singing Competition for Dramatic Sopranos in 2014 which was presented under the umbrella of the Joan Sutherland & Richard Bonynge Foundation.

She gives Masterclasses for young emerging singers and has been a judge for all the major singing competitions throughout Australia. She is the principal judge for the Joan Sutherland & Richard Bonynge Bel Canto Award and the Elizabeth Connell Prize.

In 2020 she wrote the Introduction and co-produced Richard Bonynge's book Chalet Monet: Inside the Home of Joan Sutherland & Richard Bonynge, published by Melbourne Books.

Positions
  • 1988–2007 Principal Artist with Opera Australia
  • 1992–2014 Freelance Principal Opera Singer
  • 2010 Founding Director of the Joan Sutherland & Richard Bonynge Foundation
  • 2010–present, General Manager and Artistic Director of the Joan Sutherland & Richard Bonynge Foundation
  • 2012 Founding Trustee for the Elizabeth Connell Scholarship
  • 2012 to present, General Manager and Artistic Director of the Elizabeth Connell Prize
  • Member of Pacific Opera's Council of Patrons

Awards

Recordings

Publications
  • Who's Who of International Music (listed)
  • Contemporary Australian Women (listed)
  • Who's Who of Australian Women (listed)
  • Chalet Monet: Inside the Home of Dame Joan Sutherland & Richard Bonynge – Richard Bonynge (2020 Author of the introduction)
  • Timing is Everything – Moffatt Oxenbould's Memoirs (mention)
  • Choir Man – Jonathon Welch – (mention)
  • Joan Sutherland My Favourites 2020 CD (Decca Article piece)

References
  1. "Romantic French Arias". presto music. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
  2. "Shell Aria very even contest". The Canberra Times. Vol. 60, no. 18, 534. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 30 June 1986. p. 11. Retrieved 23 September 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. Fred Blanks (19 March 1987). "Music Singing for Gold". The Australian Jewish Times. Vol. 92, no. 24. New South Wales, Australia. p. 33. Retrieved 23 September 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. "Today's radio". The Canberra Times. Vol. 61, no. 18, 772. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 25 February 1987. p. 20. Retrieved 23 September 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. W. L. Hoffmann (7 November 1988). "Parliament House was the Stage for Concert". The Canberra Times. Vol. 63, no. 19, 390. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. p. 17. Retrieved 23 September 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. Robin Usher (28 September 2010). "On a controversial note". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  7. "Lewis to sing title role of AO season opener 'Rigoletto'". The Canberra Times. Vol. 63, no. 19, 445. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 2 January 1989. p. 10. Retrieved 23 September 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. "Daily Diary". The Canberra Times. Vol. 63, no. 19, 511. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 10 March 1989. p. 12. Retrieved 23 September 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. "New Productions in Opera". The Australian Jewish News. Vol. 56, no. 7. Victoria, Australia. 17 November 1989. p. 28. Retrieved 23 September 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. Bryce Hallett (3 October 2008). "Opera Singer Made to Sound 'like a goat'". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  11. "Bruce Martin". The Monthly. 22 October 2008. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
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