Patricia Payne (mezzo-soprano)

Patricia Katherine Payne ONZM (born 8 March 1942) is an operatic mezzo-soprano and contralto from New Zealand. A member of London's Royal Opera House, she made an international career, performing leading roles of both Wagner and Italian repertory at major opera houses of the world. After decades of singing, she became a visual artist.

Patricia Payne

ONZM
Born
Patricia Katherine Payne

(1942-03-08) 8 March 1942
Dunedin, New Zealand
EducationLondon Opera Centre
Occupations
OrganizationsRoyal Opera House
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1974; died 2014)​
[1]
RelativesAlison Holst (sister)

Career

Born in Dunedin, Payne was educated at Otago Girls' High School.[2] After winning the National Operatic Aria Competition in 1966,[3] she continued her studies in London. She was a student at the London Opera Centre from 1967 to 1968, and also studied with Roy Henderson, Hans Hotter and Vera Rózsa.[2] After mainly working in oratorios from 1969, she made her stage debut at the Royal Opera House in 1974 as Schwertleite in Wagner's Die Walküre, and became a member of the ensemble. She appeared there as Erda in his Das Rheingold and Siegfried, and the First Norn in his Götterdämmerung, among others. She was Geneviève in Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande, Ulrica in Verdi's Un ballo in maschera, and Mrs Sedley in Britten's Peter Grimes.[2][4] In 1976 she was a "huge success" as Filpyevna in the Covent Garden production of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin.[5]

She appeared at the Bayreuth Festival in 1977, as Schwertleite and First Norn in the Jahrhundertring, the centenary production of Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen, conducted by Pierre Boulez and staged by Patrice Chéreau.[6] She made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 1980, as Cieca in Ponchielli's La Gioconda.[6] In 1978, she appeared at La Scala in Milan as Ulrica, a role that has been called her signature role. She performed at the Opera North in Leeds in 1987 in the English premiere of Daphne by Richard Strauss, singing the role of Gaea. In 1995, she appeared at the Tel Aviv Opera as Clarissa in Prokofiev's L'Amour des trois oranges, and as Auntie in the first performance of Britten's Peter Grimes in New Zealand.[6]

After her singing career, she became a visual artist, creating icons, paintings of fish and other creatures from the natural world, and medieval scenes.[7]

Honours

In the 2001 New Year Honours, Payne was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to opera and the community.[8] In 2007, she was conferred with an honorary Doctor of Music degree by the University of Otago.[9]

References
  1. "David John Galloway". legacy.com.
  2. Kutsch, Karl Josef; Riemens, Leo, eds. (2004). Payne, Patricia. p. 3574. ISBN 978-3-59-844088-5. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  3. "Teacher who raised winning voices". The Sydney Morning Herald. 21 January 2010. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  4. "Patricia Payne". Opera Scotland. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
  5. New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu Taonga. "Singers of the 1970s and 1980s". teara.govt.nz. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  6. "Patricia Payne" (in German). Bayreuth Festival. Archived from the original on 28 June 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
  7. "Patricia Payne". International Art Centre. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
  8. "New Year honours list 2001". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 30 December 2000. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
  9. "Honorary graduates". University of Otago Calendar (PDF). University of Otago. 2019. p. 118. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
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