Jacqueline Dark facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jacqueline Dark
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Dark, c. 2007
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| Born | 1967/1968 Ballarat, Victoria, Australia
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| Died | (aged 55) Sydney, Australia
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| Other names | Jacqueline Moran |
| Occupation | Operatic mezzo-soprano |
| Organization | Opera Australia |
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Jacqueline Lisa Dark (also known as Jacqueline Moran; born around 1968 – died 3 October 2023) was an amazing Australian opera singer. She was a mezzo-soprano, which means she had a powerful lower female singing voice. Jacqueline mostly performed with Australian opera companies, and for a while, she was a member of Opera Australia.
She was famous for her strong voice in main roles, even in brand-new operas. People also loved her stage presence and how she could make audiences laugh with her unique sense of humor.
Jacqueline Dark won a Green Room Award in 2011 for her role as Donna Elvira in Mozart's opera Don Giovanni. She also won a Helpmann Award in 2013 for playing Herodias in Salome. Besides opera, she also performed in music theatre and cabaret shows. In 2015, she toured Australia and New Zealand as Mother Abbess in The Sound of Music. A reviewer said her "towering, glorious voice" closed the first act with a stunning performance of 'Climb Ev'ry Mountain'.
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Early Life and Training
Jacqueline Dark was born in Ballarat, a city in Victoria, Australia. She went to the University of Ballarat from 1986 to 1988. There, she studied science and also earned a teaching degree in 1989. After that, she worked as a teacher in Ballarat.
Later, Jacqueline trained at the Victorian College of the Arts. She graduated with high honors in opera in 1995. This training helped her become the talented opera singer she was.
Her Opera Career
Jacqueline Dark performed with many important opera companies. These included Opera Australia, Victorian State Opera, and Opera Queensland. She was even part of Opera Queensland's Young Artist Program in 2000.
Performing Around the World
Jacqueline also performed at the famous Vienna State Opera in Austria. There, she sang roles in well-known operas like Verdi's Rigoletto and La traviata, Wagner's Die Walküre, and Bizet's Carmen. She returned to Australia in 2002.
In 2006, she played Dorabella in Mozart's Così fan tutte. This was a special performance because it was the first show for the Victorian Opera. She was soon hired by Opera Australia's music director, Richard Hickox.
Key Roles with Opera Australia
Jacqueline took on many important roles with Opera Australia. In 2012, she performed as Herodias in Richard Strauss's Salome. The next year, in 2013, she played Meg Page in Verdi's Falstaff and Lady Billows in Britten's Albert Herring. She also sang two roles, Fricka and Second Norne, in Wagner's huge opera series Der Ring des Nibelungen.
In 2014, she added more roles to her list. These included Filippyevna in Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin and Emilia in Verdi's Otello. She also sang Donna Elvira in Mozart's Don Giovanni again. In 2015, she performed as Amneris in Verdi's Aida and Marcellina in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro.
As a Guest Singer
As a freelance singer, Jacqueline performed with other companies too. She sang Santuzza in Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana for the State Opera of South Australia. For this, she won an award for Best Female Performance. She also sang the main role in the Australian premiere of Rufus Wainwright's Prima Donna.
Her other roles included Berenice in Vivaldi's Farnace and Mrs Sedley in Britten's Peter Grimes. She also played the Old Lady in Bernstein's Candide for the New Zealand Opera. Jacqueline returned to Opera Australia in 2018 to sing Fricka, Herodias, and the Countess in Shostakovitch's The Nose.
Her wide range of roles also included the Composer in R. Strauss's Ariadne auf Naxos and the main role in Carmen. She sang Tisbe in Rossini's La Cenerentola, which earned her another Green Room Award. Other roles were Suzuki in Puccini's Madama Butterfly and Mary in Wagner's Der fliegende Holländer.
Jacqueline Dark also created the role of Sally Lowe in the first-ever performance of Moya Henderson's opera Lindy. She worked with famous directors like Neil Armfield and Barrie Kosky.
Music Theatre and Concerts
Beyond opera, Jacqueline also performed in music theatre, cabaret, and concerts. In 2015, she was chosen to play Mother Abbess in the national tour of The Sound of Music. Reviewers praised her for being a "firm but caring mother" and for her "towering, glorious voice" when she sang 'Climb Ev'ry Mountain'.
She was also a soloist with many groups, including the Melbourne Chorale and the Queensland Symphony Orchestra. She performed the alto solo in Rossini's Stabat Mater with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra. In 2013, she recorded "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" for an album called I Dreamed a Dream: Hit Songs from Broadway.
Personal Life
Jacqueline Dark had a son. She passed away on 3 October 2023, at the age of 55. She had been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer the year before.
Recordings
Jacqueline Dark's performances were captured in several recordings:
- Lindy (2001) – as Stringer/Sally Lowe (Henderson)
- The Marriage of Figaro (2010) – as Marcellina (Mozart)
- The Mikado (2011) – as Katisha (Gilbert and Sullivan)
- Don Giovanni (2012) – as Donna Elvira (Mozart)
- Der Rosenkavalier (2013) – as Annina (Strauss)
- I Dreamed a Dream – Hit Songs From Broadway (2013) – featuring "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" from The Sound of Music
- "Frozen" (Madonna) – a duet on Greg Gould's album 1998
Awards and Achievements
Jacqueline Dark won many awards and competitions throughout her career. Some of her early achievements included winning the Shell Aria in 1993, the Fletcher Jones Memorial Aria in 1994, and the Herald Sun Aria in 1998 and 2000.
She also received a Victorian Theatre Guild Award in 1989 and a scholarship to the Royal Opera House studio in 1998. In 2000, she won the Vienna State Opera Award. She received two Green Room Awards: one in 2004 for her role as Tisbe in La Cenerentola and another in 2011 for Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni.
In 2013, Jacqueline won the award for Best Female Performer in a Supporting Role in an Opera at the 13th Helpmann Awards for her role as Herodias in Opera Australia's Salome. She was also nominated for a Helpmann Award in 2014 for her performance in The Melbourne Ring Cycle.
