Birthday

As we continue to mourn the unexpected passing of Opera Australia's Music Director, Richard Hickox, let's nevertheless pause for a moment to celebrate another vital figure in Australian opera. A very happy birthday to the great and gorgeous Yvonne Kenny AM. 

The two worked together on a number of very fine recordings for both Chandos and EMI — I particularly treasure their recordings of Howells' song cycle "In Green Ways", the two Lennox Berkeley operas (A Dinner Engagement and the beautiful Ruth) and Vaughan Williams' Dona nobis pacem. In Australia, perhaps their most notable collaboration was in Handel's Giulio Cesare, which included the now infamous milk bath scene. 

Courtesy of YouTube user cmielak, here's a clip (audio + photo only) from that production: Cleopatra's "Da tempeste il legno infranto".