Submitted by
Matthew Barker
Monica Sinclair
Opera singer with formidable presence and a gift for comedy
Alan Blyth:
The Guardian
May 15h, 2002
Monica Sinclair, who has died at the age of 77, was one of the most
sought-after of the school of British singers who formed the nucleus of the
newly-formed resident company at Covent Garden after the second world war. Under the auspices of administrator David Webster and music director Karl
Rankl, she, like her coevals, flourished in an atmosphere that preferred a
true ensemble to the glitter of international star performances. With her
dark looks and handsome presence, she was in demand in a wide variety of
roles after her debut at the Royal Opera House, as Second Boy in The Magic
Flute, in 1949.
I recall her, in those early days, as a captivating Cherubino in Mozart's
Figaro, and a delightful Pauline in Tchaikovsky's Queen of Spades, in which
she accompanied herself on the harpsichord.
Sinclair was also adept in modern scores. She sang Margaret in the legendary
British premiere of Berg's Wozzeck in 1952, under the baton of Erich
Kleiber, who had conducted the work's Berlin premiere, and she created the
Heavenly Body in Vaughan Williams' The Pilgrim's Progress (1951). She also
played Lady Essex in Britten's Gloriana (1953), Evadne in Walton's Troilus
And Cressida (1954), and The Voice in Tippett's The Midsummer Marriage
(1955), all at Covent Garden.
In 1954, Sinclair began a six-year association with Glyndebourne, singing
Ragonde in the first British performances of Rossini's Le Comte Ory, and
recording the role, both under Vittorio Gui. In 1960, she was Queen
Henrietta to Joan Sutherland's Elvira in Bellini's I Puritani.
Her Marcellina in Figaro, also at Glyndebourne, was one of the first
occasions on which she disclosed her gift for comedy, which was to stand her
in good stead. She also gleefully took the gorgon roles in Gilbert and
Sullivan operas on disc, with Sir Malcolm Sargent conducting.
At the 1967 Aldeburgh festival, Sinclair crowned her comedic career by
singing Madame Popova in the premiere of Walton's one-act opera The Bear, a
performance preserved on disc. She also delighted audiences at Covent Garden
and the Metropolitan, New York, as the old Marquise de Birkenfeld in
Donizetti's La Fille Du Régiment, with Sutherland in the title part.
At this time, Sinclair made a niche for herself in the trousers' roles,
originally taken by castrati, in Handel operas. She appeared in the 1950s
with the pioneering Handel Opera Society, singing, at the 1957 St Pancras
festival, a brilliant Bradamante to Sutherland's account of the title role
in Alcina, which did a world of good to both their careers. Indeed, they
repeated their parts when Zeffirelli produced the work, much more lavishly,
at Venice in 1960, a staging that later came to Covent Garden.
In increasing demand for her fluent gifts in baroque opera, Sinclair sang
the title role in Lully's Armide at Bordeaux in 1955. She could startle her
audiences with the flair of her runs and the power in their execution. Later
parts at Covent Garden included an impressive Marfa in Mussorgsky's
Khovanshchina, and the Old Prioress in Poulenc's The Carmelites, both of
which exploited her considerable gifts as singing actor.
Sinclair was born at Evercreech, Somerset, and studied at both the Royal
Academy of Music and the Royal College of Music. Just before joining Covent
Garden, she made her stage debut as Suzuki in Madama Butterfly, with the
Carl Rosa Company in 1948.
She was also successful in a wide variety of repertory on the concert
platform. Beecham chose her for his last recording of Messiah, and for his
sets of Mozart's Requiem and Delius's A Mass of Life. Her many recording
credits include a fearsome Sorceress in the 1961 version of Dido And Aeneas,
with Janet Baker as Dido. She also appeared on several occasions at the last
night of the Proms, singing the solo in Rule Britannia.
Sinclair had a formidable presence on stage, and seemed born to act tragedy
and comedy with equal aplomb. What she may have lacked in vocal smoothness,
she made up for with her command of character and technique.
She married (and was divorced from) Anthony Tunstall, a former Covent Garden
horn player. They had six children, all of whom survive her.
Monica Sinclair, mezzo-soprano, born March 23 1925; died May 7 2002
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