Amy Shuard

Amy Shuard wielded a dramatic soprano of fearless brightness, strong and secure in its upper register and guided by the singer's determined and forthright temperament. Celebrated for her authority in Verdi and Janácek roles, Shuard steadily increased the breadth and depth of her repertory, ultimately becoming a formidable Brünnhilde and Elektra. Like her teacher Eva Turner, she achieved particular success as Turandot. Her large, somewhat hard-edged voice and histrionic intensity are clearly in evidence in the several recordings she made in the prime years of her all-too-short career. Shuard studied at Trinity College of Music where her voice instructor was Ivor Warren (she later worked with Turner who understood the special needs of the large-voiced singer). At the age of 24, she was awarded a medal by the Worshipful Company of Musicians and subsequently toured South Africa as the organization's representative. Her concerts there led to an engagement the following year with a touring opera company in the roles of Aida, Giulietta, and Venus. When Shuard returned to London in 1949, she auditioned for the Sadler's Wells Opera and was hired on the spot, making her debut as Musetta that November. Other roles in her first season included Santuzza, Marguerite, and Carmen. During the 1950-1951 season, her Eboli in Don Carlo stopped the performance with "O don fatale," propelling her into the forefront of company artists. After two more seasons during which she widened her reputation with a striking performance of the title role in Janácek's Kát'a Kabanová, she withdrew from the stage temporarily to undertake further studies in Milan. When Shuard returned to Sadler's Wells in January 1954, the public heard a larger, fuller, more cutting instrument, albeit one less comfortable in managing softer phrases. A revival of Kát'a in the spring of 1954, this time under Czech conductor Rafael Kubelik, revealed considerable artistic growth. Her dramatic strength matched her indomitable singing and London audiences began to think of her as a potential successor to Eva Turner. Shuard's Magda Sorel in The Consul the following year consolidated her reputation. After a guest Aida in December 1954, Shuard joined the Royal Opera House as a member the following June. In the larger auditorium, her powerful voice found a more congenial setting, although her assignments during her first season included only Giulietta and three smaller roles in Wagner's Ring. In the 1955 - 1956 season, Shuard sang Lisa in Pique Dame, but sounded constrained until her voice released itself in the final act. A Butterfly, however, was finely realized both interpretively and vocally. In December 1956, Shuard sang an authoritative Jenufa opposite the searing Kostelnicka of Sylvia Fisher and, in May 1957, she subdued her large voice to sing a sympathetic Liu to Fisher's Turandot. Shuard came to assume the most heroic roles in the soprano repertory, including the title role in Turandot, Kundry, Brünnhilde, and Elektra. Her career expanded to embrace Vienna, Bayreuth, Buenos Aires, La Scala, and several other Italian venues. Shuard's only stage appearances in America took place in San Francisco where she made her debut as the Walküre Brünnhilde in October 1963. In 1966, she returned as Elektra, in 1968 as Turandot, and in 1969 she presented her Götterdämmerung Brünnhilde to the San Francisco public.