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The English soprano, Anne Pashley, studied at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London.
Before she took up singing, Anne Pashley was a sprinter. She won a silver medal in the 4 x 110 yards relay at the 1954 Commonwealth Games in Vancouver, Canada; a bronce medal in 100 m at the 1954 European Championships in Bern, Switzerlasnd; and a silver medal in the 4 x 100 relay at the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, Australia. She made her stage debut in 1959 with Handel Opera Society in Semele. She made her debut at Glyndebourne Festival in 1962 as the 2nd Boy in Die Zauberflöte, and at Covent Garden in 1965 as Barbarina in W.A. Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro. She also sang with the English National Opera, the Welsh National Opera, Scottish Opera, at Edinbourgh and Aldeburgh Festivals, and with leading orchestras. Foreign engagements led her to France, Germany. Portugal, Spain, Belgium Italy and Israel. She sang leading roles in 8 BBC TV operas and numerous radio broadcasts. In 1970 she appeared with the New Opera Company in London in the British premiere of Paul Hindemith's Cardillac. Her work in concert opera included a 1972 performance of Sir Arthur Bliss' The Olympians.
Recordings include: La Morte de Cléopâtre by Berlioz (conducted by Colin Davis); Magnificat (BWV 243) by J.S. Bach, Albert Herring and Peter Grimes by Benjamin Britten.
Anne Pashley married fellow opera singer Jack Irons, a fellow Guildhall student, in 1959. The marriage produced a son, Leon, and a daughter, Cleo. The marriage lasted until Irons' death in 2005. Their son Leon died in 2013. Her hobbies were: winemaking, table tennis, tennis, art collecting, interior design. Membership: Equity. Contribution to:The Listener. She died of cancer in a south of England nursing home, aged 80. She is survived by her daughter Cleo. |
