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The English mezzo-soprano/contralto, Gloria Jennings, was a student at the Royal Academy of Music in London (1953-1958), where she studied with Astra Desmond, Lady Neame and where she won some notable prizes including the Parepa Rosa and the Minnie Hauk Silver Medal.
Gloria Jennings sang, throughout her career, classical and contemporary music. She performed oratorio with Choral Societies, throughout the UK and Europe in concert halls, universities, cathedrals and churches.
Early in her career Gloria Jennings was a member of the Sadler’s Wells Opera and Glyndebourne Opera Chorus and toured with Opera for All. Her career continued with solo work across the repertoire and for opera groups such as Kent Opera. She fulfilled engagements for the BBC, including radio recitals, one such being of J.S. Bach Cantatas for Geraint Jones. She sang regularly at the Proms and Kent Opera’s Orfeo, produced by Jonathan Miller was shown on BBC TV2 in 1979. Music Festivals in which she sang included the Aldeburgh, Edinburgh, York, Brighton, City of London, Bath, Cambridge, Wexford, Waterford and also European festivals in Bruges, Brussels, Lisbon, Namur and Perugia, for example. She was frequently invited to give recitals in the North-East.
A selection of Gloria Jennings' recordings include Ralph Vaughan Williams' Serenade to Music at the Proms, conducted by Adrian Boult (1968, digitised 1987 and 1991, EMI); Christmas Music from George Frideric Handel's The Messiah, conducted by David Willcocks (1969, EMI); Ralph Vaughan Williams' Pilgrim’s Progress, conducted by Adrian Boult (1970, EMI); Heinrich Schütz' The Resurrection, conducted by Roger Norrington (1970, Argo); Scarlatti’s Stabat Mater, conducted by Roger Norrington (1974, Argo); Gustave Charpentier's Louise, Georges Prêtre (1976, CBS Masterworks); Sounds of Glory, conducted by John Alldis (1976, Arcade); Giacomo Puccini's Madame Butterfly, conducted by Lorin Maazel (1978, CBS Masterworks) and others. In addition to the above conductors she performed under the baton of Sir Charles Groves, Sir Colin Davis, Alexander Goehr and Pierre Boulez, for example.
Gloria Jennings was awarded an ARAM by the Royal Academy after her retirement from singing. |
