Excerpt from
MORAG BEATON - HER LIFE AND HER ART
A biography
New, revised edition, 2017
Copyright © Peter Wyllie Johnston
'The reason Miss Beaton was chosen is that she appears to have, in addition to natural vocal equipment, the essential obsession for singing, the will to produce tone that is simultaneously beautiful and expressive.'
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
London 1958
(Quoted from Schwarzkopf's adjudication for the scholarship which enabled Morag Beaton to study in Salzburg)
MORAG BEATON - HER LIFE AND HER ART
A biography
New, revised edition, 2017
Copyright © Peter Wyllie Johnston
'The reason Miss Beaton was chosen is that she appears to have, in addition to natural vocal equipment, the essential obsession for singing, the will to produce tone that is simultaneously beautiful and expressive.'
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
London 1958
(Quoted from Schwarzkopf's adjudication for the scholarship which enabled Morag Beaton to study in Salzburg)
Chapter 1: In Pursuit of a Dream
The Scottish-Australian dramatic soprano Morag Beaton, who died on April 1, 2010, was born with the gift of a great operatic voice. As a girl she dreamed of a career in opera. Above all, her wish was to sing the role of Puccini’s Turandot. She was by nature modest and shy, touched by the feyness for which Scots are renowned. These qualities equipped her with a degree of insight and empathy which could be a blessing, especially in her response to music, but could also prove to be problematical. Paradoxically, Morag could transform herself into a woman who projected a powerful, domineering and single-minded persona, one who could be confronting, even scary. Between 1967 and 1971, all of these qualities were present in her memorable performances as Turandot. Few of those who were fortunate enough to see her commanding presence on stage as the ‘Ice Princess’ would have been aware of the fragile nature of her off-stage personality, of the price she paid to achieve her goal, or of her admission that, to sing, she ‘always had to manufacture confidence’. Unlike her great contemporaries, artists such as Callas, Sutherland, Tebaldi and Nilsson, Morag lived on the edge of financial security for most of her life, without the benefit of a husband or partner to soften the blows which life delivered. Her supreme triumph was to sing Turandot, but she also displayed her artistry in many other roles and, certainly during all her years in Australia, was a source of inspiration to every aspiring singer and musician who knew her.
In 1967 Morag confirmed her reputation as a rising star when she sang Turandot, a role she performed in Australia more than any other soprano to date. She sang Tatiana (Eugene Onegin), Venus (Tannhouser), Abigaille (Nabucco), Eboli (Don Carlos) Santuzza (Cavalleria Rusticana) and many other roles. Yet her onstage operatic career in Australia was relatively brief. She sang from 1965 until 1973 returning, after a ten year absence from the stage, for a final recital at the Sydney Opera House in January 1983. In the intervening years she had continued to sing but only in private recitals.
Today her reputation rests largely on her appearances as Turandot (recorded in live performance and now on compact disc), and her performance as Cathy on the complete recording of Bernard Herrmann’s only full length opera Wuthering Heights. Her operatic career is also notable because she is the only singer in history successfully to have alternated the exacting soprano role of Turandot with Maddalena (Rigoletto) in one season and, in later seasons, sung Ulrica (A Masked Ball) followed by more Turandots and another difficult soprano role - Abigaille in Nabucco.
After Morag’s recital at the Sydney Opera House she occasionally sang for special events such as the 80th birthday gala for the late Sylvia Fisher, hosted by opera afficianado Craig Thomas. She encouraged and mentored many aspiring singers. The warm reception for Morag at the Sydney Opera House in 1996, when (in the company of Lady Tait) she attended the gala to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the Australian Opera Company, was as much an acknowledgement of her past performances as it was a reminder of how much audiences had missed her onstage in the intervening years. In 2006 at a Gala for one hundred guests in honour of Morag’s own 80th birthday, she sang two Scottish songs, accompanied by Geoffrey Tozer. ‘Still rich and glorious’ declared Guest-of-Honour, the renowned Australian opera star Lauris Elms, when she heard Morag’s singing on that occasion.
In retirement, Morag lived in Sydney and was a frequent guest of Opera Australia for performances at the Sydney Opera House. She made a point of attending performances of Turandot whenever a new soprano was in Sydney to sing the role. While Morag respected the work of several aspiring Turandots and admired the intelligent way in which Grace Bumbry sang the role, she concluded that only Rita Hunter delivered the full range of vocal qualities and attributes demanded by the composer.
Morag was always philosophical about her career, but it would be untrue to say that she was not disappointed by the failure of those who heard her performances as Turandot (with Donald Smith as Calaf) to ensure that a commercial recording of at least part of their work was produced. During the last years of her life she was delighted to learn that recordings of many of her live performances, including Turandot, had been transferred to compact disc. Also the re-discovery of Herrmann’s Wuthering Heights, especially by Renée Fleming , shone a spotlight on a part of Morag’s career that might have remained less prominent. Shortly before Morag’s death she was especially touched to learn that Wuthering Heights would be produced in a new concert production in Montpelier, France in July 2010 and in a major production by the Minnesota Opera in 2011 the centenary of Bernard Herrmann’s death. So it was that at the end of her life she had the satisfaction of knowing not only that her dream of singing opera had come true but that it would not be entirely ephemeral; her extraordinary voice would still be heard: as Herrmann’s Cathy in Wuthering Heights, as Tatiana (Eugene Onegin), as Venus (Tannhouser), as Eboli (Don Carlos), as Gioconda (La Gioconda) as Santuzza (Cavalleria Rusticana), as Giorgetta (Il, Tabarro) and, most of all, as Turandot.
During her career onstage there were always those who agreed that the quality of Morag’s performances in the opera house sometimes equalled those of some of the greatest opera singers of all time, especially in Turandot. She had the voice and the artistry to achieve luminous results. She had a strong Scottish character and was always rooted in reality, however far she traveled on flights of imagination. Despite the fact that her operatic career had been cut short in a way that was brutal and wrong, she remained optimistic and positive in her approach to life,. When it was clear that her operatic career was finished she managed to live the rest of her life without bitterness, sustained by the love and affection of her many friends, periodic visits with members of her family and by her love of music, especially opera. She sometimes said that she would no doubt be entirely forgotten but this proved to be wrong.
Soon after her death, obituaries of Morag Beaton appeared in print and online media around the world including in The Times, The Sunday Times, The Australian, The Scotsman, The Edinburgh Daily News and OnStage magazine. Soon Morag could be found online, in Wikipedia, on YouTube and in many other website references. Her voice could be heard in several operas, including Turandot, although the brief samples of her Turandot on film, and several television interviews, all of which were screened in Australia between 1967 and 1972, appear to be lost. She might be surprised by the amount of attention she has received since 2010, but for anyone who heard her sing in the opera house such attention is the least she deserves.
The Scottish-Australian dramatic soprano Morag Beaton, who died on April 1, 2010, was born with the gift of a great operatic voice. As a girl she dreamed of a career in opera. Above all, her wish was to sing the role of Puccini’s Turandot. She was by nature modest and shy, touched by the feyness for which Scots are renowned. These qualities equipped her with a degree of insight and empathy which could be a blessing, especially in her response to music, but could also prove to be problematical. Paradoxically, Morag could transform herself into a woman who projected a powerful, domineering and single-minded persona, one who could be confronting, even scary. Between 1967 and 1971, all of these qualities were present in her memorable performances as Turandot. Few of those who were fortunate enough to see her commanding presence on stage as the ‘Ice Princess’ would have been aware of the fragile nature of her off-stage personality, of the price she paid to achieve her goal, or of her admission that, to sing, she ‘always had to manufacture confidence’. Unlike her great contemporaries, artists such as Callas, Sutherland, Tebaldi and Nilsson, Morag lived on the edge of financial security for most of her life, without the benefit of a husband or partner to soften the blows which life delivered. Her supreme triumph was to sing Turandot, but she also displayed her artistry in many other roles and, certainly during all her years in Australia, was a source of inspiration to every aspiring singer and musician who knew her.
In 1967 Morag confirmed her reputation as a rising star when she sang Turandot, a role she performed in Australia more than any other soprano to date. She sang Tatiana (Eugene Onegin), Venus (Tannhouser), Abigaille (Nabucco), Eboli (Don Carlos) Santuzza (Cavalleria Rusticana) and many other roles. Yet her onstage operatic career in Australia was relatively brief. She sang from 1965 until 1973 returning, after a ten year absence from the stage, for a final recital at the Sydney Opera House in January 1983. In the intervening years she had continued to sing but only in private recitals.
Today her reputation rests largely on her appearances as Turandot (recorded in live performance and now on compact disc), and her performance as Cathy on the complete recording of Bernard Herrmann’s only full length opera Wuthering Heights. Her operatic career is also notable because she is the only singer in history successfully to have alternated the exacting soprano role of Turandot with Maddalena (Rigoletto) in one season and, in later seasons, sung Ulrica (A Masked Ball) followed by more Turandots and another difficult soprano role - Abigaille in Nabucco.
After Morag’s recital at the Sydney Opera House she occasionally sang for special events such as the 80th birthday gala for the late Sylvia Fisher, hosted by opera afficianado Craig Thomas. She encouraged and mentored many aspiring singers. The warm reception for Morag at the Sydney Opera House in 1996, when (in the company of Lady Tait) she attended the gala to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the Australian Opera Company, was as much an acknowledgement of her past performances as it was a reminder of how much audiences had missed her onstage in the intervening years. In 2006 at a Gala for one hundred guests in honour of Morag’s own 80th birthday, she sang two Scottish songs, accompanied by Geoffrey Tozer. ‘Still rich and glorious’ declared Guest-of-Honour, the renowned Australian opera star Lauris Elms, when she heard Morag’s singing on that occasion.
In retirement, Morag lived in Sydney and was a frequent guest of Opera Australia for performances at the Sydney Opera House. She made a point of attending performances of Turandot whenever a new soprano was in Sydney to sing the role. While Morag respected the work of several aspiring Turandots and admired the intelligent way in which Grace Bumbry sang the role, she concluded that only Rita Hunter delivered the full range of vocal qualities and attributes demanded by the composer.
Morag was always philosophical about her career, but it would be untrue to say that she was not disappointed by the failure of those who heard her performances as Turandot (with Donald Smith as Calaf) to ensure that a commercial recording of at least part of their work was produced. During the last years of her life she was delighted to learn that recordings of many of her live performances, including Turandot, had been transferred to compact disc. Also the re-discovery of Herrmann’s Wuthering Heights, especially by Renée Fleming , shone a spotlight on a part of Morag’s career that might have remained less prominent. Shortly before Morag’s death she was especially touched to learn that Wuthering Heights would be produced in a new concert production in Montpelier, France in July 2010 and in a major production by the Minnesota Opera in 2011 the centenary of Bernard Herrmann’s death. So it was that at the end of her life she had the satisfaction of knowing not only that her dream of singing opera had come true but that it would not be entirely ephemeral; her extraordinary voice would still be heard: as Herrmann’s Cathy in Wuthering Heights, as Tatiana (Eugene Onegin), as Venus (Tannhouser), as Eboli (Don Carlos), as Gioconda (La Gioconda) as Santuzza (Cavalleria Rusticana), as Giorgetta (Il, Tabarro) and, most of all, as Turandot.
During her career onstage there were always those who agreed that the quality of Morag’s performances in the opera house sometimes equalled those of some of the greatest opera singers of all time, especially in Turandot. She had the voice and the artistry to achieve luminous results. She had a strong Scottish character and was always rooted in reality, however far she traveled on flights of imagination. Despite the fact that her operatic career had been cut short in a way that was brutal and wrong, she remained optimistic and positive in her approach to life,. When it was clear that her operatic career was finished she managed to live the rest of her life without bitterness, sustained by the love and affection of her many friends, periodic visits with members of her family and by her love of music, especially opera. She sometimes said that she would no doubt be entirely forgotten but this proved to be wrong.
Soon after her death, obituaries of Morag Beaton appeared in print and online media around the world including in The Times, The Sunday Times, The Australian, The Scotsman, The Edinburgh Daily News and OnStage magazine. Soon Morag could be found online, in Wikipedia, on YouTube and in many other website references. Her voice could be heard in several operas, including Turandot, although the brief samples of her Turandot on film, and several television interviews, all of which were screened in Australia between 1967 and 1972, appear to be lost. She might be surprised by the amount of attention she has received since 2010, but for anyone who heard her sing in the opera house such attention is the least she deserves.