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Deborah Humble

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Deborah Humble
Born (1969-08-04) 4 August 1969 (age 55)
Bangor, Gwynedd, U.K.
Education
OccupationSinger (mezzo-soprano)
Websitedeborahhumble.com

Deborah Humble is a Welsh-born Australian dramatic mezzo-soprano noted for her operatic roles and performances on the world's concert stages.[1] A principal artist with Opera Australia and the Hamburg State Opera, Humble was a recipient of the AOAC Dame Joan Sutherland Award in 2004[2] and a finalist in the International Wagner Competition held in Seattle in 2008.[3] The recipient of two Green Room Award nominations, she has been included in the Who's Who of Australian Women since 2009.[4]

Life and career

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Born in Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales, Humble grew up in Adelaide,[5] Australia and attended Seymour College.

Humble has a Bachelor of Music (Performance) from the Elder Conservatorium of Music, University of Adelaide, a Master of Music from the Australian Catholic University, and diplomas in Education and Music from the University of Melbourne. In 1995 she was a Young Artist with the Victoria State Opera.[6]

After moving to Paris, Humble worked with Les Musiciens du Louvre, under the direction of conductor Marc Minkowski.[7] She performed regularly at the Théâtre du Châtelet and participated in multiple recordings including Offenbach's operetta La belle Hélène, staged by French director Laurent Pelly. Her discography also includes Anne Sofie von Otter sings Offenbach (Deutsche Grammophon) and Handel's Hercules (Archiv Produktion).

Humble made her British debut in 2001 for Scottish Opera in Scottish Opera Go Round, the touring branch of the company.[8] In 2002 she took up the position of principal mezzo-soprano with Opera Australia[9] singing early career roles such as Third Lady in The Magic Flute, Rosette in Manon, Clarissa in The Love for Three Oranges, Sonyetka in Lady Macbeth of Mtensk and the title roles in Gilbert and Sullivan's Iolanthe and Purcell's Dido and Aeneas. In 2005 she was appointed principal artist at the Hamburg State Opera where her many roles included Suzuki in Madama Butterfly, Zenobia in Radamisto, Bradamante in Alcina, Marcellina in The Marriage of Figaro, Malik in L'Upupa und der Triumph der Sohnesliebe, Madelon in Andrea Chénier and Hänsel in Hänsel und Gretel. She came to international attention singing Erda[10] and Waltraute in Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen conducted by Simone Young and directed by Claus Guth[11] between 2008 and 2010.

Since 2011 Humble has been a freelance artist, becoming known in particular for singing the German operatic repertoire. Her interpretation of the works of Richard Wagner has been internationally recognised. Dramatic roles include Fricka in Das Rheingold and Die Walküre,[12] Klytamnestra in Elektra,[13] Amneris in Aida, Ulrica in Un ballo in maschera, Branngäne in Tristan und Isolde, Lucretia in The Rape of Lucretia, Mescalina in Le Grand Macabre, Judith in Bluebeard's Castle, Baba the Turk in The Rake's Progress, the title role in Carmen and Dalilah in Samson et Dalilah.

Humble has sung most of the major mezzo concert repertoire including the Waldtaube in Schoenberg's Gurre-Lieder,[14] Verdi's Requiem, Handel's Messiah, Mahler Symphonies No. 2, No. 3,[15] and No. 8, Elgar's Sea Pictures, Wagner's Wesendonck Lieder, Dvorák's Requiem, Elgar's The Music Makers, The Dream of Gerontius with conductors such as Simone Young, Asher Fisch, Richard Hickox, Andris Nelsons, Pietari Inkinen, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Claudio Abbado, Jaap van Zweden, Edo de Waart, Gianluigi Gelmetti and Peter Schneider.

In 2022, Humble performed the mezzo solo in Mahler's Symphony No. 2 (Resurrection),[16][17] with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra conducted by Simone Young. These concerts, marking the reopening of the Sydney Opera House after extensive renovations, were one of the most celebrated occasions in the building's history.

Humble has been an ambassador for Worldwide Cancer Research in the UK and for the City of Sydney Eisteddfod. She is a member of the Music Board[18] of the Tait Memorial Trust in London and Mentor for the Melba Opera Trust[19] in Melbourne. She is currently patron of the Wagner Society of South Australia, Operantics and the Sydney Opera and Song Collective.

Discography

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  • The Love for Three Oranges (Prokofiev) Conducted by Richard Hickox, Chandos, 2005
  • Das Rheingold (Wagner) Conducted by Simone Young, Oehms, 2008
  • Die Walküre (Wagner) Conducted by Simone Young, Oehms, 2009
  • Siegfried, (Wagner) Conducted by Simone Young, Oehms, 2011
  • Die Götterdämmerung, (Wagner) Conducted by Simone Young, Oehms, 2012
  • Das Rheingold, (Wagner) Conducted by Jaap van Zweden, Naxos, 2015
  • Siegfried, (Wagner) Conducted by Jaap van Zweden, Naxos, 2017
  • Marvellous Mezzo-soprano and Contralto, Best Loved Opera Arias, Naxos, 2020
  • Mahler: Symphony No. 2, Barton: Of the Earth, Conducted by Simone Young, Deutsche Grammophon, 2025

References

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  1. ^ "Deborah Humble Mezzo soprano", Queensland Symphony Orchestra, accessed 17 October 2024.
  2. ^ "2025 AOAC Dame Joan Sutherland Award". Retrieved 21 January 2025.
  3. ^ "Singers from South Africa and Sweden win Seattle Wagner Competition". Retrieved 21 January 2025.
  4. ^ "Who's Who of Australian Women". Retrieved 18 October 2024. (subscription required)
  5. ^ "Opera Superstar Deborah Humble Gives Concert in Adelaide". BroadwayWorld. 18 January 2017. Retrieved 21 January 2025.
  6. ^ "Deborah Humble". Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
  7. ^ "Artist Profile: Dynamic Diva from Down Under – mezzo-soprano Deborah Humble". Voix des Arts. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
  8. ^ "Deborah Humble". Opera Scotland listing and performance history. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
  9. ^ https://opera.org.au/artist/deborah-humble/ accessed 17 October 2024.
  10. ^ Pritchard, J. "Wagner, Das Rheingold", Seen and Heard International: opera review, January–June 2008.
  11. ^ "A conversation with the mezzo-sprano Deborah Humble Erda from Down Under", OperaLounge accessed 17 October 2024.
  12. ^ Conway, S. "Opera review: Die Walküre (The Ring Cycle), QPAC", ARTShub, 19 December 2023
  13. ^ Maunder, P. "Elektra (Victorian Opera)", Limelight, 15 September 2022.
  14. ^ Moffatt, S. "Schoenberg's Gurrelieder (Sydney Symphony Orchestra)", Limelight, 17 March 2024
  15. ^ Conway, S. "Concert review: Mahler's Symphony No. 3", ARTShub 1 September 2022
  16. ^ Neil, K. "Singer with a sideline in wine saves the night with 45 minutes prep", Australian Financial Review, 29 November 2022.
  17. ^ ABC Classics "Sydney Symphony Orchestra Live Gala", ABC Listen, 21 July 2022.
  18. ^ https://www.taitmemorialtrust.org/tait-music-board/, accessed 17 October 2024.
  19. ^ Masterclass of German opera and song with mentor Deborah Humble, The Melba; Magazine of the Melba Trust, ed. 14, Winter 2016, p. 7.
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