Remembering Rita Hunter
Rita Hunter CBE (15 August 1933 – 29 April 2001) was a British operatic soprano.
In 1981 she moved to Sydney and joined the Australian Opera. Her autobiography, Wait till the sun shines, Nellie, was published by Hamish Hamilton in 1986. She died in Sydney in 2001, aged 67 and is survived by her daughter, Mairwyn Curtis (nee Hunter-Thomas) and her two grandchildren.
Rita Hunter will be remembered as one of the major Wagnerian sopranos of the later 20th century.
The Wagner Society’s Annual Dinner held on 24 May 1985 celebrated Rita Hunter, who sang and entertained guests with amusing tales about productions and her life. She was awarded Honorary Life Membership of the Society for her services to the Wagner tradition in Australia. Werner Baer MBE accompanied Rita on the piano and performed a transcription of ‘Happy birthday for Richard’. And Michel Arnould, our Secretary, who worked in fashion, created a flowing hot pink kaftan for Rita and gifted it to her. [Leona Geeves]
Some videos from the YouTube channel created by her daughter for her mother’s performances:
- Elsa’s dream from Lohengrin – Wallasey UK, 1960 [sung in English]
- Senta’s ballad from The Flying Dutchman, 1963 and 1990
- The dawn duet from The Twilight of the Gods, Act 1 Scene 2 – Rita Hunter as Brünnhilde & Alberto Remedios – 6 March 1971 [sung in English]
- Siegfried Act 3, Scene 3 – Rita Hunter and Alberto Remedios – Sadler’s Wells, 3 March 1973
- Brünnhilde’s immolation from Götterdämmerung – The Met, 23 March 1974
- Wesendock Lieder with Julius Drake, piano – Shelldonian Theatre, Oxford, 8 May 1993