Kenny, Yvonne
Kenny, Yvonne
Kenny, Yvonne, Australian soprano; b. Sydney, Nov. 25, 1950. She received her training at the New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music in Sydney and at the La Scala Opera School in Milan (1973–74). In 1975 she made her debut in London in a concert perf. as Donizetti’s Rosamunda d’Inghilterra. On July 12, 1976, she made her first appearance at London’s Covent Garden in the premiere of Henze’s We Come to the River, and returned there in subsequent years to sing such roles as Mozart’s Susanna, Pamina, and Ilia, Verdi’s Oscar, Bizet’s Micaëla, Handel’s Semele, and Puccini’s Liù. In 1977 she made her debut at London’s English National Opera as Strauss’ Sophie. In 1985 she made her first appearance at the Glyndebourne Festival as Ilia. In 1993 she sang Strauss’ Madeleine at the Berlin State Opera. She appeared in Purcell’s The Fairy Queen in London in 1995. In 1997 she portrayed the Marschallin at Covent Garden. She sang Poppea in Sydney in 1998, and returned there as Alice in Falstaff in 1999. Her guest engagements also took her to Paris, Vienna, Hamburg, Munich, Salzburg, Edinburgh, and other music centers. She was also very active as a concert artist. In 1989 she was made a Member of the Order of Australia.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire