Margaret Haggart

Margaret Haggart is an Australian operatic soprano and community arts founder based in Melbourne, Australia.[1] Her career spans over 90 operatic, operetta and cabaret roles, performed in the United Kingdom, Italy, France, the United States of America, South America, Singapore, New Zealand and Australia.[2][1][3] She is a board member of Melbourne Opera, Green Room Awards and a committee member for the now finished Mietta Song Competition.[4][5][6]

Margaret Haggart standing looking at camera smiling, she is wearing a jacket with the label "The Silent Anzac" behind her a stacked chairs and marble columns.
Margaret Haggart in Australia House, London after a performance of the Silent Anzac on Remembrance Day 2018

Early life

Margaret grew up in the Melbourne suburb of Footscray, her father a Scottish coal miner migrated to Australia and met her mother of Australian heritage when they were working at an ICI factory in Deer Park.[3] Margaret attended North Footscray Primary School and Footscray Girls High School. In her teenage years, she participated in choir and light opera opportunities in her local community. She studied voice with Antonio Moretti-Pananti.[1]

Early career

In Melbourne, Margaret performed regularly with the Williamstown Light Opera and was a founding member of the amature company that would later become Victoria State Opera.

International career

In 1972, Margaret performed her first principal operatic role with Welsh National Opera in the United Kingdom. Following this, she regularly performed with the English National Opera, Welsh National Opera, Opera North and Scottish Opera. She performed more than 90 principal roles and was particularly known for singing The Queen of the Night in Mozart's opera Die Zauberflöte.[1]

She sang for the BBC Proms at Royal Albert Hall in 1976.[7] In France she sang with the Opéra national de Lorraine (formerly known as Opéra de Nancy) and Chorégies d'Orange.[8]

Association with Gian Carlo Menotti

Margaret was invited by Gian Carlo Menotti to perform in his Festival dei Due Mondi di Spoleto in 1986. This included the recorded to video performance of Menotti's La santa di Bleecker Street for the Festival. She then travelled to the US and performed in the same production for the 10th U.S. Spoleto Festival.[9][10][11] Menotti founded the Spoleto Festival Melbourne, where she was invited to perform in its opening season.[1]

Discography
  • Concerto on Australian Themes, An Australian in Paris (1998) – Naxos, 8.554368[12]
  • Hansel and Gretel, Humperdinck (1999) – Opera D'Oro, OPD-1204[13]

Filmography
  • "Mrs Grosse" in The Turn of the Screw: Britten, Opera Australia, ABC Video (1991)[14]
  • "Witch" in Hansel and Gretel, Humperdinck, Opera Australia ABC Video (1992)[15]
  • "Maria Corona" in La santa di Bleecker Street, Menotti, Festival dei Due Mondi di Spoleto (1986)[16]
  • "Berta" in The Barber of Seville, Rossini, Victoria State Opera, ABC Video (1984)[17]

References
  1. "Living Museum of the West – hear our voices". www.livingmuseum.org.au. Retrieved 2023-04-05.
  2. "Meet the soloists: Margaret Haggart – MonUCS". Retrieved 2023-04-05.
  3. "Maggie Haggart Interview". operafolks.com. Retrieved 2023-04-05.
  4. "About". Melbourne Opera. Retrieved 2023-04-05.
  5. "Opera – The Green Room Awards". Retrieved 2023-04-05.
  6. "Committee | Mietta Song Competition – an Australian Classical Singing Competition". www.miettafoundation.com.au. Retrieved 2023-04-05.
  7. "BBC Proms". BBC Music Events. Retrieved 2023-04-05.
  8. "Winfried Maczewski und seine Frau Sophie verstorben". Städtischer Musikverein zu Düsseldorf (in German). 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2023-04-05.
  9. "Omaggio a Gian Carlo Menotti". RAI Ufficio Stampa. Retrieved 2023-04-05.
  10. Page, Tim; Times, Special to the New York (1986-05-25). "Opera: U.S. Spoleto Festival Opens". The New York Times. Retrieved 2023-04-05.
  11. "Spoleto Festival USA" (PDF). Program History 2018 – 1977: 1–157.
  12. Michael Easton, Brett Kelly, State Orchestra Of Victoria Victoria State Orchestra Bernadette Conlon, Len Vorster, Margaret Haggart – Concerto on Australian Themes, An Australian in Paris, retrieved 2023-04-05
  13. Humperdinck – Christine Douglas, Suzanne Johnston, Margaret Haggart – Hansel And Gretel, retrieved 2023-04-05
  14. The Turn of the Screw: Britten (TV Movie 1991) at IMDb
  15. Hansel and Gretel (TV Movie 1992) at IMDb
  16. La santa di Bleecker Street (TV Movie 1986)id=tt12992626 at IMDb
  17. The Barber of Seville (TV Movie 1984) at IMDb
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