Jill Gomez, soprano known for creating lead roles, dies at 83
Soprano Jill Gomez, whose roles included the Duchess of Argyll in Thomas Adès’s Powder Her Face, has died aged 83, according to an obituary published by The Guardian. She was praised for her vocal quality, precise articulation and stage presence, and had major successes at Glyndebourne between 1969 and 1984.
Jill Gomez, a soprano known for her vocal quality, precise articulation and stage presence, has died aged 83, according to The Guardian.
Gomez created lead roles including the Duchess of Argyll in Powder Her Face. She was praised in the early 1970s by Arthur Jacobs in Opera magazine, alongside Josephine Barstow, as “the most exciting of our newer female singers”.
Her roles included the Governess in Britten’s The Turn of the Screw and Anne Trulove in Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress. At Glyndebourne, where she appeared between 1969 and 1984, she performed Mélisande, Calisto, Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Anne Trulove. At Covent Garden, her roles included Lisa in La Sonnambula, Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Lauretta in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi.
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