Yvonne Kenny

Yvonne Kenny AM (born 25 November 1950) is an Australian soprano, particularly associated with Handel and Mozart roles.
Biography.
Born in Sydney, she first studied at the University of Sydney in science, hoping to become a biochemist, but decided to pursue a career in music instead. She studied first with Myra Lambert at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, and later won a scholarship to study at the opera school at La Scala in Milan. After a year of studying there, she went to England, where after a few recitals and TV appearances, her breakthrough came on 11 October 1975, when she replaced, with only four days' notice, the soprano scheduled to sing in an Opera Rara concert performance of Donizetti's "Rosmonda d'Inghilterra" at the Queen Elizabeth Hall. It was a triumph and the virtually unknown Kenny became an overnight star.
She made her debut at the Royal Opera House the following year, in the premiere of Hans Werner Henze's "We Come to the River", later singing in Handel operas such as "Semele", "Alcina", "Giulio Cesare", and such Mozart operas as: "Idomeneo", "Mitridate, re di Ponto", "La clemenza di Tito", "The Abduction from the Seraglio", "The Magic Flute". She also sang Sophie in both "Werther" and "Der Rosenkavalier". She was also a regular guest at the Glyndebourne Festival and the English National Opera. On the international scene, she appeared at opera houses in Zurich, Munich, Vienna, Aix-en-Provence, Washington, etc. She often returned home, appearing at the Sydney Opera House in roles including: Mélisande, Manon, Leila, Micaela, Fiordiligi, Pamina, Alcina and Cleopatra. Later she sang the roles of Richard Strauss.
In 2009, Kenny appeared as Blanche DuBois in the Australian premiere of Previn's "A Streetcar Named Desire" for Opera Australia. After her initial success with Opera Rara, she appeared in many recordings with them, notably Donizetti's "Ugo, conte di Parigi" and "Emilia di Liverpool", Meyerbeer's "Il crociato in Egitto", and Simon Mayr's "Medea in Corinto". She also provided the voice for the title role in the TV mini-series "Melba", about Dame Nellie Melba.
She is the Chairman and Life President of the Australian Music Foundation.
Awards and nominations.
ARIA Music Awards.
The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. 
Olympics.
She performed the Olympic Hymn at the closing ceremony of the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. In 2001 she was awarded the Centenary Medal.