Audrey Langford (28 June 1912,

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

— 5 August 1994,

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 87,889 as of 2011. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, char ...

) was an English soprano,

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Music * Conductor (music), a person who leads a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra. * ''Conductor'' (album), an album by indie rock band The Comas * Conduction, a type of structured free improvisation ...

, 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 singi ...

. 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 metropolitan county and combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tamesid ...

, Langford earned degrees in piano and voice from the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...

. She was committed to the

Royal Opera House, Covent Garden The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Op ...

under

Sir Thomas Beecham Sir Thomas Beecham, 2nd Baronet, CH (29 April 18798 March 1961) was an English conductor and impresario best known for his association with the London Philharmonic and the Royal Philharmonic orchestras. He was also closely associated with ...

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 "''con primario''", or "with the primary", meaning that the ''comprimario'' role (or singer) is not a principal role (o ...

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 an opera or a music drama in three acts by the German composer Richard Wagner and his last composition. Wagner's own libretto for the work is loosely based on the 13th-century Middle High German epic poem '' Parziv ...

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

Hansel and Gretel "Hansel and Gretel" (; german: Hänsel und Gretel ) is a German fairy tale collected by the German Brothers Grimm and published in 1812 in ''Grimm's Fairy Tales'' (KHM 15). It is also known as Little Step Brother and Little Step Sister. Hanse ...

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

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, 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 Nav ...

. 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 educatio ...

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 composer, librettist, director, and playwright who is primarily known for his output of 25 operas. Although he often referred to himself as an American composer, he kept ...

: ''

The Old Maid and the Thief ''The Old Maid and the Thief'' is a radio opera in one act by Italian-American composer Gian Carlo Menotti. The work uses an English language libretto by the composer which tells a twisted tale of morals and evil womanly power. Menotti writes in ...

'' 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 Cunni ...

'' 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 classical, jazz, and avant-garde music, talks and dance performances. It was opened in 1967, with a concert conducted by Benjamin Britten. The Q ...

for a recording of Jules Massenet's ''

Marie-Magdeleine ''Marie-Magdeleine'' is an oratorio (Drame Sacré) in three acts and four parts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Louis Gallet. It was first performed at the Théâtre de l'Odéon in Paris on 11 April 1873, starring the famous contralto Pa ...

''. 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 O ...

; conducting performances of Handel's ''

Partenope ''Partenope'' ("Parthenope", HWV 27) is an opera by George Frideric Handel, first performed at the King's Theatre in London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kin ...

'' (1964) and ''

Bastien und Bastienne ' (''Bastien and Bastienne''), 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 was allegedly commi ...

'' (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 Frederic ...

. In 1949 she married bass-baritone Andrew Field. Her daughter is mezzo-soprano Sally Langford-Broadley (also known professionally as Elizabeth 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 Wales, Welsh television personality who rose to fame in the United Kingdom when she was chosen to be a contestant on the Big Brother UK series 2, second series of the reality television show ''Big Brother (UK) ...

*Richard Warner Best *

Susan Bickley Susan Bickley is a British mezzo-soprano singer who performs in opera, Baroque and contemporary classical music. Personal life and education Susan Rochford Bickley was born into a Welsh family in Liverpool, England. Her father was a primary sc ...

Jeffrey Black Jeffrey Black (born September 6, 1962) is an Australian baritone who has had an active international performance career since the early 1980s. A frequent performer with Opera Australia and the Glyndebourne Festival Opera, he has performed lead ...

*Christine Bunning * Meribeth (Bunch) Dayme * Elisabeth Erikson *Helen Gasztowt-Adams * Sheri Greenawald *Hugh Hetherington *

Martyn Hill Martyn Hill (b. 14 Sept 1944) is a British tenor. Life and career Hill was born in Rochester, Kent on September 14, 1944. He studied at King's College, Cambridge, followed by the Royal College of Music. He pursued further vocal training with Audr ...

*Ann Hood *Richard Jackson *Janis Kelly *Dorothy Maddison *Maureen Morelle *Arwel Huw Morgan *Josephine Nendick *

Joan Rodgers Joan Rodgers C.B.E. (born 1956, Cleator Moor, Cumbria, England) is an English operatic soprano. She was married to the conductor Paul Daniel, and married Alan Samson in 2013. She studied singing with Audrey Langford. She made her professional ope ...

*Ghillian Sullivan *

Torhild Staahlen Torhild Staahlen (25 September 1947 – 17 December 2021) was a Norwegian operatic mezzo-soprano who was employed at Norwegian National Opera from 1967 to 1969 and from 1971 to 2000. She had her solo debut as Suzuki in ''Madam Butterfly'' with The ...

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 Weaving Jon Weaving (23 February 193119 October 2011) was an Australian opera singer, initially a bass-baritone but later a tenor. Early life and career He was born on 23 February 1931 in the Melbourne suburb of Kew.Rich, Maria F. (ed.)excerpt from "W ...

Rich, 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 Operatic sopranos Voice teachers Women conductors (music)