Amy Black
Encyclopedia
Amy Black was a British mezzo-soprano
opera singer of international repute.
She was born in Hedon
, in the East Riding of Yorkshire
, and trained at the Royal Academy of Music
. She made numerous appearances at the popular Classics in the Park event, held at Brantingham
, and also sang for Glyndebourne
Opera, English Touring Opera
, The European Union Opera, Wexford Festival Opera
and English National Opera
.
She died on 24 November 2009. She was 36 years old and had undergone heart surgery five months earlier.
Tests earlier in 2009 had revealed that Amy had a bicuspid aortic heart valve
, meaning the valve that pumps blood away from the heart has only two valve leaflets instead of the usual three.
She couldn't sing for three months after surgery but made a comeback in October with an emotional performance at Toll Gavel Methodist Church in Beverley
.
Hundreds of mourners packed into St Augustine's Church in her home town of Hedon for her funeral on 7 December 2009. Amy's fellow musicians from the English National Opera attended the service and sang a piece from Mozart's Idomeneo
which Amy, had been due to perform in 2010.
In 2009, she gave a personal performance for Plácido Domingo
in Qatar
and in 2002, she gave a solo recital at the British Embassy in Asunción, Paraguay to celebrate the Queen's Golden Jubilee.
But she never forgot her home town, helping to raise thousands of pounds for Hedon's St Augustine's Church where she had sung in the choir as a girl.
Mezzo-soprano
A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...
opera singer of international repute.
She was born in Hedon
Hedon
Hedon is a small town and civil parish in Holderness in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately east of Hull city centre. It lies to the north of the A1033 road at the crossroads of the B1240 and B1362 roads....
, in the East Riding of Yorkshire
East Riding of Yorkshire
The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Yorkshire, is a local government district with unitary authority status, and a ceremonial county of England. For ceremonial purposes the county also includes the city of Kingston upon Hull, which is a separate unitary authority...
, and trained at the Royal Academy of Music
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a conservatoire, Britain's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999. The Academy was founded by Lord Burghersh in 1822 with the help and ideas of the French harpist and composer Nicolas...
. She made numerous appearances at the popular Classics in the Park event, held at Brantingham
Brantingham
Brantingham is a village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated about north of Brough, and west of Kingston upon Hull. It lies to the north of the A63 road...
, and also sang for Glyndebourne
Glyndebourne
Glyndebourne is a country house, thought to be about six hundred years old, located near Lewes in East Sussex, England. It is also the site of an opera house which, with the exception of its closing during the Second World War, for a few immediate post-war years, and in 1993 during the...
Opera, English Touring Opera
English Touring Opera
English Touring Opera is an opera company in the United Kingdom. From 1979 to 1992 it was known as Opera 80.- About the company :Opera 80 was founded in 1979 by the Arts Council of Great Britain as the successor to Opera For All; in 1992 the company changed its name to English Touring Opera...
, The European Union Opera, Wexford Festival Opera
Wexford Festival Opera
The Wexford Festival Opera is an opera festival that takes place in the town of Wexford in South-Eastern Ireland during the months of October and November.-Festival origins under Tom Walsh, 1951 to 1966:...
and English National Opera
English National Opera
English National Opera is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St. Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with the Royal Opera, Covent Garden...
.
She died on 24 November 2009. She was 36 years old and had undergone heart surgery five months earlier.
Tests earlier in 2009 had revealed that Amy had a bicuspid aortic heart valve
Mitral valve
The mitral valve is a dual-flap valve in the heart that lies between the left atrium and the left ventricle...
, meaning the valve that pumps blood away from the heart has only two valve leaflets instead of the usual three.
She couldn't sing for three months after surgery but made a comeback in October with an emotional performance at Toll Gavel Methodist Church in Beverley
Beverley
Beverley is a market town, civil parish and the county town of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, located between the River Hull and the Westwood. The town is noted for Beverley Minster and architecturally-significant religious buildings along New Walk and other areas, as well as the Beverley...
.
Hundreds of mourners packed into St Augustine's Church in her home town of Hedon for her funeral on 7 December 2009. Amy's fellow musicians from the English National Opera attended the service and sang a piece from Mozart's Idomeneo
Idomeneo
Idomeneo, re di Creta ossia Ilia e Idamante is an Italian language opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The libretto was adapted by Giambattista Varesco from a French text by Antoine Danchet, which had been set to music by André Campra as Idoménée in 1712...
which Amy, had been due to perform in 2010.
In 2009, she gave a personal performance for Plácido Domingo
Plácido Domingo
Plácido Domingo KBE , born José Plácido Domingo Embil, is a Spanish tenor and conductor known for his versatile and strong voice, possessing a ringing and dramatic tone throughout its range...
in Qatar
Qatar
Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
and in 2002, she gave a solo recital at the British Embassy in Asunción, Paraguay to celebrate the Queen's Golden Jubilee.
But she never forgot her home town, helping to raise thousands of pounds for Hedon's St Augustine's Church where she had sung in the choir as a girl.