Foreword by Jennifer Kloester
published in MORAG BEATON - HER LIFE AND HER ART
Copyright © Peter Wyllie Johnston
Author Jennifer Kloester 2013
MORAG BEATON 1926-2010
I was seven years old the first time I saw Morag Beaton. I was at my very first opera, sitting high up in the ‘gods’ in Melbour_ne’s Her Majesty’s Theatre waiting to see my brother make his opera debut in the children’s chorus of Puccini’s Turandot. My memory of that night is one of splendor – both visual and musical. Morag came down the central staircase wearing an incredible robe with a train made of peacock feathers. She looked every inch the legendary Chinese ice princess and yet her voice was rich and warm and evocative. Though I didn’t understand the words I remember being utterly captivated by the magnificent soprano voice that soared so effortlessly up to the gods. Donald Smith made a wonderful Prince Calaf and I have loved ‘Nessun Dorma’ ever since. Together Morag and her prince made the most unforgettable music.
In person, Morag was like her music: brilliant, generous and utterly memorable. She drew you to her with her warm smile and rich, ready laughter. Her speaking voice had an entrancing Scottish lilt and she was wonderful to hug. I remember meeting her a few years later in Adelaide at a post-performance supper at the Grosvenor Hotel. My father had allowed me to stay up after the opera and I was thrilled to see Morag again. She gave me a pretty gold ring and a beautiful gold and silver brooch; they instantly became my proudest and most cherished possessions. I have them still.
We kept in touch and and 1996, on a stopover to Scotland, Morag came to visit us in Bahrain. It was wonderful to see her and I took her to Sheikh’s Beach where we saw the Emir sitting outside his summer palace. Morag couldn’t resist singing a few impromptu lines from one of her favourite operas and her beautiful operatic soprano voice did not seem out of place under the palm trees on that sunlit stretch of sandy beach! Later that day, I drove her out into the desert where Morag had a wonderful time communing with a camel. She was someone who knew how to live in every moment and she had an energy that always lifted the spirits of those around her.
In 2006 I was one of those privileged to attend Morag’s eightieth birthday celebrations in the Blue Mountains just outside Sydney. Her close friends Rhonda and Heather played host to more than one hundred guests at a magnificent lunch which was followed by an unforgettable recital by the great virtuoso pianist Geoffrey Tozer. He played many of Morag’s favourite pieces, the beautiful music bringing her first to tears and then, irrestistibly, to the floor. She stood there, utterly at ease, as her magnificent voice, still rich, still strong, soared and swooped for joy; a last great gift to her many friends and admirers.
Vale Morag Beaton, soprano magnifico.
Jennifer Kloester
July 2, 2013
The Cinderella Moment
Georgette Heyer’s Regency World
Georgette Heyer: the Biography
www.jenniferkloester.com
I was seven years old the first time I saw Morag Beaton. I was at my very first opera, sitting high up in the ‘gods’ in Melbour_ne’s Her Majesty’s Theatre waiting to see my brother make his opera debut in the children’s chorus of Puccini’s Turandot. My memory of that night is one of splendor – both visual and musical. Morag came down the central staircase wearing an incredible robe with a train made of peacock feathers. She looked every inch the legendary Chinese ice princess and yet her voice was rich and warm and evocative. Though I didn’t understand the words I remember being utterly captivated by the magnificent soprano voice that soared so effortlessly up to the gods. Donald Smith made a wonderful Prince Calaf and I have loved ‘Nessun Dorma’ ever since. Together Morag and her prince made the most unforgettable music.
In person, Morag was like her music: brilliant, generous and utterly memorable. She drew you to her with her warm smile and rich, ready laughter. Her speaking voice had an entrancing Scottish lilt and she was wonderful to hug. I remember meeting her a few years later in Adelaide at a post-performance supper at the Grosvenor Hotel. My father had allowed me to stay up after the opera and I was thrilled to see Morag again. She gave me a pretty gold ring and a beautiful gold and silver brooch; they instantly became my proudest and most cherished possessions. I have them still.
We kept in touch and and 1996, on a stopover to Scotland, Morag came to visit us in Bahrain. It was wonderful to see her and I took her to Sheikh’s Beach where we saw the Emir sitting outside his summer palace. Morag couldn’t resist singing a few impromptu lines from one of her favourite operas and her beautiful operatic soprano voice did not seem out of place under the palm trees on that sunlit stretch of sandy beach! Later that day, I drove her out into the desert where Morag had a wonderful time communing with a camel. She was someone who knew how to live in every moment and she had an energy that always lifted the spirits of those around her.
In 2006 I was one of those privileged to attend Morag’s eightieth birthday celebrations in the Blue Mountains just outside Sydney. Her close friends Rhonda and Heather played host to more than one hundred guests at a magnificent lunch which was followed by an unforgettable recital by the great virtuoso pianist Geoffrey Tozer. He played many of Morag’s favourite pieces, the beautiful music bringing her first to tears and then, irrestistibly, to the floor. She stood there, utterly at ease, as her magnificent voice, still rich, still strong, soared and swooped for joy; a last great gift to her many friends and admirers.
Vale Morag Beaton, soprano magnifico.
Jennifer Kloester
July 2, 2013
The Cinderella Moment
Georgette Heyer’s Regency World
Georgette Heyer: the Biography
www.jenniferkloester.com
