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28-554: An attempt to professionalise the company as the Victorian Opera Co was made by Alfred Ruskin, foundation chairman and Peter Burch, general manager (1970–1974), who in 1971 appointed Dame Joan Hammond to the board. In 1972 she brought Richard Divall to Melbourne. Richard Divall was to remain with the company as Music Director until 1996. In 1976 Dame Joan Hammond accepted a position at the Victorian College of

56-619: A life member of the Melbourne-based Victorian Opera Company (since 1976, the Victorian State Opera – VSO), founded in 1962 by Leonard Spira. She was the VSO's artistic director from 1971 until 1976 and remained on the board until 1985. Working with the then general manager, Peter Burch, she invited the young conductor Richard Divall to become the company's musical director in 1972. She joined

84-648: A production of Lohengrin produced by August Everding . Acknowledging their Gilbert and Sullivan heritage, 1995 saw Rhonda Burchmore star in a production of Ruddigore at the State Theatre . As the VSO designed their productions for the State Theatre, a 2077-seat theatre with one of the largest stages in the world, they were able to make full use of the facilities i.e. revolving stage, hydraulic stages and were able to create imaginative and exciting effects in their productions. Their first opera in

112-566: Is quoted in The Age on 29 July 1976, saying that the new title had "more prestige" and "a more official cachet." He stated further that, "The State Opera would not seek to emulate the lavishness of Australian Opera Company productions." It would concentrate on attracting younger audiences with modern and experimental productions combining opera with music and drama. The subsidy from the Victorian State Government in 1975

140-983: The Lyric Opera of Chicago , the Metropolitan Opera New York City , San Francisco Opera , Victoria State Opera , and Opera Australia . In the 1980s and 1990s he interviewed a great many famous opera singers on German television, including Hans Hotter , Carlo Bergonzi , Otto Edelmann , Anja Silja , Astrid Varnay , Ingeborg Hallstein , Gundula Janowitz , Karl Ridderbusch , Birgit Nilsson , Irmgard Seefried , Martha Mödl , Gustav Neidlinger , Hans Hopf , Hans Sotin , Franz Crass and Josef Greindl . Many of these interviews can now be viewed on YouTube, in German. Many of his classic productions are preserved on DVD, including Hänsel und Gretel (1981) (Deutsche Grammophon B000AXSKB8), and Die Zauberflöte (Deutsche Grammophon B000ASAEQW). He

168-893: The New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music in Sydney, and played violin for three years with the Sydney Philharmonic Orchestra before studying singing in Vienna in 1936. Hammond won the women's junior golf championship for New South Wales in 1929, and the New South Wales Women's Amateur Championship in 1932, 1934, and 1935. When she became well known as a golfer, she started to sign her name as "Joan Hood Hammond", and newspaper articles would sometimes hyphenate this as "Joan Hood-Hammond"; however, she later dropped

196-586: The aria " O mio babbino caro " from Puccini 's opera Gianni Schicchi . Recorded in English under the title "O My Beloved Father", it earned Hammond a Gold Record award for 1 million sold copies on 27 August 1969. Her recording of "O, Silver Moon" from Dvořák 's Rusalka was also a huge seller. A prolific artist, Hammond's repertoire also encompassed Verdi , Handel , Tchaikovsky , Massenet , Beethoven , as well as folk song , art song , and lieder . A heart attack in 1965 forced Hammond to retire from

224-728: The "Hood". An encounter with Lady Gowrie , the wife of the then Governor of New South Wales , Lord Gowrie , made Hammond's dreams of studying in Europe possible. She would often refer to Lady Gowrie as her "guardian angel". Hammond's fellow golfers in New South Wales raised enough money for her to leave Australia in 1936 to study in Vienna. She also studied with Dino Borgioli in London. She toured widely, and became noted particularly for her Puccini roles. She returned to Australia for concert tours in 1946, 1949 and 1953, and starred in

252-590: The Arts and was replaced as chairman by John Day (1976–1982). Richard Divall instantly made his mark on the company, raising it to a new level of professionalism with a landmark production Of Monteverdi's Coronation of Poppea directed by Rod Anderson and starring Marilyn Richardson . Through these early years the company made a major contribution to the popularization of Opera through its highly successful schools touring productions of specially commissioned works employing and giving work and experience to younger singers from

280-566: The Arts , a post she held until 1989. In that time she trained an extraordinary number of Australian singers who had successful careers in Australia and on the international stage. Among her notable pupils are sopranos Helen Adams and Cheryl Barker , baritone Peter Coleman-Wright , and tenor Steve Davislim . In 1983, her home at Aireys Inlet was destroyed by the Ash Wednesday bushfires and she lost all her possessions including

308-650: The Arts Centre Melbourne, where it presented at least four to five operas a year over two seasons, which eventually rivalled those of the Australian Opera given in the same space. At its height, the VSO had over 13,000 season subscribers. In 1985 Brian Stacey was appointed as Head of Music. Other notable production highlights include appearances by Suzanne Steele, most notably in the lead role of La belle Hélène and as Eurydice in Orpheus in

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336-912: The New Year's Day Honours of 1972 she was made a Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) for services to young opera singers. In 1986, the Victoria State Opera created the Dame Joan Hammond Award with Moffatt Oxenbould as its inaugural recipient. In 1989, the Hammond residence at Deakin University was opened by her and named in her honour. August Everding August Everding ( German pronunciation: [ˈaʊɡʊst ˈʔeːvɐdɪŋ] ; 31 October 1928; Bottrop , Germany – 26 January 1999; Munich )

364-706: The State Orchestra of Victoria (now Orchestra Victoria ) and continues to support opera and ballet in the State Theatre. Opera Australia took on the responsibilities of performing opera in both the states of Victoria and New South Wales. More recently, the Victorian Opera has been formed with funding from the Victorian government to provide an opera company for Melbourne and Victoria. Joan Hammond Dame Joan Hilda Hood Hammond , DBE CMG (24 May 1912 – 26 November 1996)

392-498: The State Theatre was the new John Copley production of Verdi's Don Carlos in 1984. The curtains remained open during set changes so the audience could marvel at the machinery. The company decided to merge with the Australian Opera . In that merger Richard Divall was appointed Principal Resident Conductor of Opera Australia from 1996 until 2001, Lindy Hume was appointed Associate Artistic Director with overall control, remaining in Sydney with Moffatt Oxenbould . That merger, which

420-595: The Underworld . There were also Don Giovanni , Tannhäuser , The Pearl Fishers (which toured to Sydney), The Tales of Hoffmann , Faust , Aida , Il trovatore , The Barber of Seville , The Magic Flute , Andrea Chénier , Turandot , Madama Butterfly (the traditional production by Andrew Sinclair or the Ken Russell production in 1986, as part of the Spoleto Festival ) and

448-494: The Victoria State Opera. VSO productions he directed include: In 1982 Sir Rupert Hamer , the former premier of Victoria , became Chairman of the Victoria State Opera and was to remain in this position until 1995. It was a fitting appointment as Sir Rupert had been a vigorous supporter of the building of the Arts Centre Melbourne complex. From 1984 the company performed in the newly built State Theatre , part of

476-539: The Victorian Council of the Arts, was a member of the Australia Council for the Arts opera advisory panel, and was an honorary life member of Opera Australia . She was important to the success of both the VSO and Opera Australia. Hammond embarked on a second career as a voice teacher after her performance career ended. In 1975, she was appointed head of vocal studies at the Victorian College of

504-589: The company. Another highlight of these years was a production of Donizetti 's Maria Stuarda in July 1976, directed by Robin Lovejoy with a cast including Nance Grant and June Bronhill conducted by Richard Divall. This was to be the last opera produced under the Victoria Opera Company banner. In 1976 the new chairman John Day added the word 'State' to its title to become Victoria State Opera. He

532-785: The following years he also directed in Bayreuth , the Deutsche Oper Berlin , Zurich Opera , In 1988 the Prinzregententheater was renovated under his patronage and could be reopened as theatre and opera house. It also houses the Bavarian Theatre Academy. His productions were seen in all the major international houses: Vienna State Opera , Salzburg Festival . the Royal Opera House , Covent Garden, London , La Scala , Milan ,

560-661: The memorabilia of a lifetime. She died in 1996 in Bowral , New South Wales , aged 84, and was buried in the Bowral General Cemetery. Her long-time partner, Lolita Marriott, had pre-deceased her in 1993. Cheryl Barker, Joan Carden and John Bolton-Wood sang at Hammond's memorial concert at the Melbourne Concert Hall, broadcast on ABC Classic FM . In the Queen's Birthday Honours of 1953, she

588-609: The second Elizabethan Theatre Trust opera season in 1957. She undertook world concert tours between 1946 and 1961. Her autobiography, A Voice, a Life , was published in 1970. Dame Joan Hammond appeared in the major opera houses of the world – the Royal Opera House , La Scala , the Vienna State Opera and the Bolshoi . Her fame in Britain came not just from her stage appearances but from her recordings. She made famous

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616-466: The stage. Her final performance was at the funeral of her "guardian angel", Lady Gowrie, on 30 July 1965, at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle . This occasion was also memorable for the fact that Hammond was the first woman ever granted royal permission to sing in that chapel. She was interviewed for the BBC radio programme Desert Island Discs in 1970. Hammond retired to Australia. She became patron and

644-589: The time. Hammond was born in May 1912, not long after the family had arrived in New Zealand. She was six months old when her family moved again, to Sydney, Australia. Her parents finally married in Sydney on 25 May 1927, the day after her 15th birthday, although there is no evidence Samuel's first wife had died by that time, or that they had ever divorced. Hammond attended Pymble Ladies' College and excelled in both sports and music. She studied violin and singing at

672-478: Was AUD165,000. In 1976 the VSO sought an increase to AUD$ 280,000 with an unchanged Federal Government subsidy of AUD56,000. The first production under the new banner was Gluck 's Orfeo and Eurydice , starring Margaret Field, which opened at the National Theatre , St Kilda on 30 July 1976. Significant appointments in these early years include: In 1977 Robin Lovejoy was appointed Artistic Advisor to

700-780: Was a German opera director and administrator. He studied at the Universities of Bonn and Munich , where launching his career in the 1950s. He was a member of the Roman Catholic fraternity Katholischer Studentenverein Arminia Bonn . From 1968 onwards he worked as a director in Hamburg , before moving back to Munich in 1977 to become the General Intendant of the Bayerische Staatsoper . In

728-597: Was an Australian operatic soprano , singing coach and champion golfer. Joan Hilda Hood Hammond was born and baptised in Christchurch , New Zealand. Her father, Samuel Hood, was born in England. He married his first wife, Edith, then left her and took up with Hammond's mother, Hilda Blandford, by whom he also had two sons in England. He informally added "Hammond" to his name and they represented themselves as "Mr and Mrs Samuel H. Hammond" although they were not married at

756-624: Was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for her singing. In the Queen's Birthday Honours of 1963 she was promoted to Commander (CBE). In the Queen's Birthday Honours of 1974 she was promoted within the order to Dame Commander (DBE) for distinguished services to music. She received the Sir Charles Santley memorial gift from the Worshipful Company of Musicians , London, in 1970. In

784-598: Was to cover opera in New South Wales and Victoria, was not a success, and the newly named Opera Australia cut back the staff in Melbourne, and, while retaining an office in Melbourne, returned the great majority of its operations to Sydney. The Elizabethan Trust Melbourne Orchestra, formed in 1969 to support the Australian Opera and the Australian Ballet, survived the merger. In 1987 it was renamed

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