Jacqueline Dark
Encyclopedia
Jacqueline Lisa Dark is an Australian opera
tic mezzo-soprano
. She was born in Ballarat and attended the University of Ballarat
from 1986 to 1988, receiving a Bachelor of Science (Physics) and a Graduate Diploma of Education in 1989.
Dark trained at the Victorian College of the Arts
from where she received first class honours in the Graduate Diploma
of Opera in 1995.
, Victorian State Opera
, was young artist for Opera Queensland
in 2000, performed at the Vienna State Opera
the roles of Giovanna (Rigoletto
), Grimgerde (Die Walküre
), Annina (La traviata
), Mercedes (Carmen
), and Il Pastore (shepherd) in Tosca
.
Dark performed the role of Sally Lowe in the world premiere of Lindy
and the title role in Iolanthe
for Opera Australia, and covered the role of Pearl in the world premiere of Richard Mills
' Summer of the Seventeenth Doll
. She has appeared as a soloist with groups including the Melbourne Chorale, the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra (concert series), Orchestra Victoria
, The Australian National Academy of Music, The Royal Philharmonic Society and Queensland Symphony Orchestra
.
For Opera Australia and ABC:
for her role of in Opera Australia's La Cenerentola
(2004), an Overseas Study Grant, Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust
(2001), the Vienna State Opera Award (2000), 3rd place in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions
finals (1999), as well as a finalist in McDonald's Operatic Aria (1999, 2000), Herald Sun
Aria (1998, 2000), National Liederfest (2000), Covent Garden National Opera
Studio Scholarship
(1998). She has won the Ringwood Aria 1997, Geelong Aria (1997), Fletcher Jones
Memorial Aria (1994), Shell
Aria (1993), Victorian Theatre Guild Award (Performance of Distinction) (1989), Encore Award for Performance of Excellence (1986).
Dark launched the 2007 season at Her Majesty's Theatre in her home town of Ballarat as Dorabella in Così fan tutte.
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
tic mezzo-soprano
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...
. She was born in Ballarat and attended the University of Ballarat
University of Ballarat
The University of Ballarat is a dual-sector university in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. It was formed by the passage of an Act of the Victorian Parliament in 1994, from the Ballarat College of Advanced Education...
from 1986 to 1988, receiving a Bachelor of Science (Physics) and a Graduate Diploma of Education in 1989.
Dark trained at the Victorian College of the Arts
Victorian College of the Arts
The Faculty of the VCA and Music is a faculty of the University of Melbourne, in Victoria . VCAM is located near the Melbourne central business district, on two campuses, one - the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music - on the Parkville campus of the University of Melbourne, and the other - the...
from where she received first class honours in the Graduate Diploma
Graduate Diploma
A Graduate Diploma is generally a postgraduate qualification, although some graduate diplomas involve the study of undergraduate level courses...
of Opera in 1995.
Performance
Dark has performed with Opera AustraliaOpera Australia
Opera Australia is the principal opera company in Australia. Based in Sydney, its performance season at the Sydney Opera House runs for approximately eight months of the year, with the remainder of its time spent in the The Arts Centre in Melbourne...
, Victorian State Opera
Victorian Opera (Melbourne)
Victorian Opera is an opera company based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The company was founded in 2005 and commenced operations in January 2006 with funding from the Victorian government, and Richard Gill as Artistic Director...
, was young artist for Opera Queensland
Opera Queensland
Opera Queensland is an opera company based in Brisbane, Queensland. The company was founded with funding from the Queensland State Government in 1981, then under the name Lyric Opera of Queensland, after the Queensland Opera Company was closed in December 1980.It is after Opera Australia the second...
in 2000, performed at the Vienna State Opera
Vienna State Opera
The Vienna State Opera is an opera house – and opera company – with a history dating back to the mid-19th century. It is located in the centre of Vienna, Austria. It was originally called the Vienna Court Opera . In 1920, with the replacement of the Habsburg Monarchy by the First Austrian...
the roles of Giovanna (Rigoletto
Rigoletto
Rigoletto is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the play Le roi s'amuse by Victor Hugo. It was first performed at La Fenice in Venice on March 11, 1851...
), Grimgerde (Die Walküre
Die Walküre
Die Walküre , WWV 86B, is the second of the four operas that form the cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen , by Richard Wagner...
), Annina (La traviata
La traviata
La traviata is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on La dame aux Camélias , a play adapted from the novel by Alexandre Dumas, fils. The title La traviata means literally The Fallen Woman, or perhaps more figuratively, The Woman...
), Mercedes (Carmen
Carmen
Carmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself possibly influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...
), and Il Pastore (shepherd) in Tosca
Tosca
Tosca is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900...
.
Dark performed the role of Sally Lowe in the world premiere of Lindy
Lindy (opera)
Lindy is an opera in two acts by Australian composer Moya Henderson to an English libretto by Judith Rodriguez.It premiered on 25 October 2002 at the Sydney Opera House.-Roles:-Synopsis:The plot is based on the disappearance of Lindy...
and the title role in Iolanthe
Iolanthe
Iolanthe; or, The Peer and the Peri is a comic opera with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It is one of the Savoy operas and is the seventh collaboration of the fourteen between Gilbert and Sullivan....
for Opera Australia, and covered the role of Pearl in the world premiere of Richard Mills
Richard Mills
Richard John Mills AM, DMus BA Qld, is an Australian conductor and composer. He currently works as Artistic Director of the West Australian Opera and Artistic Consultant with Orchestra Victoria...
' Summer of the Seventeenth Doll
Summer of the Seventeenth Doll (opera)
Summer of the Seventeenth Doll is a chamber opera in two acts by Richard Mills to a libretto by Peter Goldsworthy, based on the play of the same name by Ray Lawler. The opera was commissioned by the Victoria State Opera and premiered on 19 October 1996 at the Playhousein Melbourne. It lasts about...
. She has appeared as a soloist with groups including the Melbourne Chorale, the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra (concert series), Orchestra Victoria
Orchestra Victoria
Orchestra Victoria is an orchestra based in Victoria, Australia. In addition to its own concert and education events, it is the performance partner of the following major performing arts companies: The Australian Ballet, Opera Australia and Victorian Opera...
, The Australian National Academy of Music, The Royal Philharmonic Society and Queensland Symphony Orchestra
Queensland Symphony Orchestra
The Queensland Symphony Orchestra is an Australian orchestra, based principally in Brisbane in the state of Queensland.The QSO played its first concert on 26 March 1947, with the orchestra consisting of 45 musicians, conducted by Percy Code. John Farnsworth Hall was recruited from the Sydney...
.
Major roles
- Donna Elvira (Don GiovanniDon GiovanniDon Giovanni is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and with an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It was premiered by the Prague Italian opera at the Teatro di Praga on October 29, 1787...
- Mozart) Opera Australia - The Composer (Ariadne auf NaxosAriadne auf NaxosAriadne auf Naxos is an opera by Richard Strauss with a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. Bringing together slapstick comedy and consuming beautiful music, the opera's theme is the competition between high and low art for the public's attention.- First version :The opera was originally...
- Strauss) Victorian Opera - Dorabella (Così fan tutteCosì fan tutteCosì fan tutte, ossia La scuola degli amanti K. 588, is an opera buffa by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart first performed in 1790. The libretto was written by Lorenzo Da Ponte....
- Mozart) Victorian Opera - Carmen (CarmenCarmenCarmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself possibly influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...
- Bizet) Eastern Metropolitan Opera - Katisha (The MikadoThe MikadoThe Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen operatic collaborations...
- Gilbert and Sullivan) Opera Australia - Marcellina (The Marriage of FigaroThe Marriage of FigaroLe nozze di Figaro, ossia la folle giornata , K. 492, is an opera buffa composed in 1786 in four acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, based on a stage comedy by Pierre Beaumarchais, La folle journée, ou le Mariage de Figaro .Although the play by...
- Mozart) Opera Australia - Maddalena (RigolettoRigolettoRigoletto is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the play Le roi s'amuse by Victor Hugo. It was first performed at La Fenice in Venice on March 11, 1851...
- Verdi) Opera Australia - Annina (Der RosenkavalierDer RosenkavalierDer Rosenkavalier is a comic opera in three acts by Richard Strauss to an original German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It is loosely adapted from the novel Les amours du chevalier de Faublas by Louvet de Couvrai and Molière’s comedy Monsieur de Pourceaugnac...
- Strauss) Opera Australia - Rosmira (PartenopePartenopePartenope is an opera by George Frideric Handel, first performed at the King's Theatre in London on 24 February 1730.-Background:...
- Handel) Opera Australia - Emilia (OtelloOtelloOtello is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Shakespeare's play Othello. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, and was first performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, on February 5, 1887....
- Verdi) Opera Australia - Flora (La traviataLa traviataLa traviata is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on La dame aux Camélias , a play adapted from the novel by Alexandre Dumas, fils. The title La traviata means literally The Fallen Woman, or perhaps more figuratively, The Woman...
- Verdi) Opera Australia - Suzuki (Madama ButterflyMadama ButterflyMadama Butterfly is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. Puccini based his opera in part on the short story "Madame Butterfly" by John Luther Long, which was dramatized by David Belasco...
- Puccini) Opera Australia and Opera Queensland
Screen appearances
For Opera Australia and Cinema Live - international cinema release:- The Marriage of Figaro (Mozart)
- Der Rosenkavalier (Strauss)
- The Mikado (Gilbert and Sullivan)
- Don Giovanni (Mozart)
Recordings
For Opera Australia and CinemaLive - DVD and CD recordings:- The Marriage of Figaro (Mozart)
- Der Rosenkavalier (Strauss)
- The Mikado (Gilbert and Sullivan)
- Don Giovanni (Mozart)
For Opera Australia and ABC:
- Lindy (Henderson)
Recognition
Among Dark's awards and major prizes are a Green Room AwardGreen Room Awards
The Green Room Awards are peer awards which recognise excellence in cabaret, dance, drama, fringe theatre, musical theatre and opera in Melbourne....
for her role of in Opera Australia's La Cenerentola
La Cenerentola
La Cenerentola, ossia La bontà in trionfo is an operatic dramma giocoso in two acts by Gioachino Rossini. The libretto was written by Jacopo Ferretti, based on the fairy tale Cinderella...
(2004), an Overseas Study Grant, Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust
Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust
The Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust was set up in September 1954 under the guidance of H. C. ‘Nugget’ Coombs, Governor of the Commonwealth Bank, Sir Charles Moses General Manager, Australian Broadcasting Commission and John Douglas Pringle, Editor of The Sydney Morning Herald. It aimed to...
(2001), the Vienna State Opera Award (2000), 3rd place in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions
Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions
The Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions is an annual singing competition sponsored by the Metropolitan Opera. Established in 1954, its purpose is to discover, assist, promote, and develop young opera singers. The competition is held in four stages: Districts, Regional, Semi-Final, and...
finals (1999), as well as a finalist in McDonald's Operatic Aria (1999, 2000), Herald Sun
Herald Sun
The Herald Sun is a morning tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia. It is published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Limited, itself a subsidiary of News Corporation. It is available for purchase throughout Melbourne, Regional Victoria, Tasmania, the Australian Capital...
Aria (1998, 2000), National Liederfest (2000), Covent Garden National Opera
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
Studio Scholarship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
(1998). She has won the Ringwood Aria 1997, Geelong Aria (1997), Fletcher Jones
Fletcher Jones
Sir Fletcher Jones OBE was an Australian clothing manufacturer and retailer, and a pioneer in workforce participation...
Memorial Aria (1994), Shell
Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...
Aria (1993), Victorian Theatre Guild Award (Performance of Distinction) (1989), Encore Award for Performance of Excellence (1986).
Dark launched the 2007 season at Her Majesty's Theatre in her home town of Ballarat as Dorabella in Così fan tutte.
External links
- Profile, Patrick Togher Artists' Management