Audrey Langford (28 June 1912,

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...

— 5 August 1994,

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is southeast of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 88,000 as of 2023. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, charte ...

) was an English

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

, and

voice teacher A voice teacher or singing teacher is a musical instructor who assists adults and children in the development of their abilities in singing. Typical work A voice teacher works with a student singer to improve the various skills involved in sing ...

. Musicologist Elizabeth Forbes wrote, "Audrey Langford will no doubt go down in musical history as a superb singing teacher over a period of 50 years, but she also had two other successful careers, as a soprano who sang at Covent Garden in the late 1930s and, after the war, as a conductor, most particularly of the Bromley Philharmonic Choir and the Kentish Opera Group, both of which organizations she founded."

Life and career

Born in

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester. ...

, Langford earned degrees in piano and voice from the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music (RCM) is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including pe ...

. She was committed to the

Royal Opera House, Covent Garden The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...

under Sir Thomas Beecham where she performed mainly in

comprimario A comprimario is a small supporting role in an opera (or a singer who sings those roles). The word is derived from the Italian language, Italian "''con primario''", or "with the primary", meaning that the ''comprimario'' role (or singer) is not a p ...

roles from 1936 through 1939. Some of the roles she performed at that opera house included Madeleine in '' Louise'' (1936) a Flower Maiden in ''

Parsifal ''Parsifal'' ( WWV 111) is a music drama in three acts by the German composer Richard Wagner and his last composition. Wagner's own libretto for the work is freely based on the 13th-century Middle High German chivalric romance ''Parzival'' of th ...

'' (1936, 1937, and 1939), and the Dew Fairy in ''

Hansel and Gretel "Hansel and Gretel" (; ) is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812 as part of ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'' (KHM 15). Hansel and Gretel are siblings who are abandoned in a forest and fall into the hands of a witch ...

'' (1937). After opera ceased at that theatre with the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Langford spent the war years performing as a member of the

Entertainments National Service Association The Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA) was an organisation established in 1939 by Basil Dean and Leslie Henson to provide entertainment for British armed forces personnel during World War II. ENSA operated as part of the Navy, ...

. A perforated ear drum ended her performance career shortly after the end of war, and she then began a long distinguished career as a voice teacher which lasted more than five decades. In addition to teaching privately out of the Cantica Voice Studio in Bromley, Langford was a member of the voice faculty at the

Royal Northern College of Music The Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) is a conservatoire located in Manchester, England. It is one of four conservatoires associated with the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. In addition to being a centre of music education ...

and taught masterclasses internationally. Langford also had a career as a professional conductor. She notably founded and directed both the Bromley Philharmonic Choir and the Kentish Opera Group. With the latter organization she conducted the United Kingdom premieres of two operas by

Gian Carlo Menotti Gian Carlo Menotti (, ; July 7, 1911 – February 1, 2007) was an Italian-American composer, libretto, librettist, director, and playwright who is primarily known for his output of 25 operas. Although he often referred to himself as an American ...

: '' The Old Maid and the Thief'' on July 14, 1960, and ''

The Saint of Bleecker Street ''The Saint of Bleecker Street'' is an opera in three acts by Gian Carlo Menotti to an original English libretto by the composer. It was first performed at the Broadway Theatre in New York City on December 27, 1954. David Poleri and Davis Cunn ...

'' on July 27, 1962. In 1974 she conducted the Bromley Philharmonic Choir and Handel Chamber Orchestra at

Queen Elizabeth Hall The Queen Elizabeth Hall (QEH) is a music venue on the South Bank in London, England, that hosts European classical music, classical, jazz, and avant-garde music, talks and dance performances. It was opened in 1967, with a concert conducted by ...

for a recording of

Jules Massenet Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet (; 12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) was a French composer of the Romantic music, Romantic era best known for his operas, of which he wrote more than thirty. The two most frequently staged are ''Manon'' (1884 ...

's '' Marie-Magdeleine''. She was also David Parry's first conducting teacher. Langford was also a guest conductor with the

Scottish Opera Scottish Opera is the national opera company of Scotland, and one of the five national performing arts companies of Scotland. Founded in 1962 and based in Glasgow, it is the largest performing arts organisation in Scotland. History Scottish Op ...

; conducting performances of Handel's '' Partenope'' (1964) and ''

Bastien und Bastienne ' (''Bastien and Bastienne''), Köchel catalogue, K. 50 (revised in 1964 to K. 46b) is a one-act singspiel, a comic opera, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. ' was one of Mozart's earliest operas, written in 1768 when he was only twelve years old. It wa ...

'' (1966).

Personal life and death

Langford's first husband was violist

Frederick Riddle Frederick Craig Riddle OBE (20 April 19125 February 1995) was a British violist. He was considered to be in the line from Lionel Tertis and William Primrose, through to the violists of today such as Lawrence Power. Early life and career Frederi ...

. In 1949 she married bass-baritone Andrew Field. Her daughters are mezzo-soprano Sally Langford-Broadley (also known professionally as Elizabeth Langford) and Anne Langford. She died in Bromley on 5 August 1994.

Pupils

The following singers studied voice with Langford: *

Helen Adams Helen Adams (born 30 May 1978) is a Welsh television personality who rose to fame in the United Kingdom when she was chosen to be a contestant on the second series of the reality television show ''Big Brother UK'', in 2001. ''Big Brother'' Ad ...

*Richard Warner Best * Susan Bickley * Jeffrey Black *Christine Bunning * Meribeth (Bunch) Dayme * Elisabeth Erikson *Helen Gasztowt-Adams *

Sheri Greenawald Sheri Greenawald (born November 12, 1947) is an American soprano and music educator who had a performance career in concerts and operas during the second half of the 20th century and early 21st century. She has portrayed principal roles in the wor ...

*Hugh Hetherington * Martyn Hill *Ann Hood *Richard Jackson *Janis Kelly *Dorothy Maddison *Maureen Morelle *Arwel Huw Morgan *Josephine Nendick * Joan Rodgers *Ghillian Sullivan * Torhild Staahlen *

Josephine Veasey Josephine Veasey CBE (10 July 1930 – 22 February 2022) was a British mezzo-soprano, particularly associated with Wagner and Berlioz roles. Early years Born in Peckham, she studied with Audrey Langford, and became a member of the Royal Opera H ...

*David Wakeman * Jon WeavingRich, Maria F. (ed.)
excerpt from "Weaving, John"
''Who's Who in Opera: An International Biographical Directory of Singers...'', Arno Press, 1976, p. 585.

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Langford, Audrey 1912 births 1994 deaths Academics of the Royal Northern College of Music Alumni of the Royal College of Music English operatic sopranos Voice teachers British women conductors (music)