Elisabeth Simon

Elisabeth Simon (London, 1930–??)

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  • IVC 1st Prize Winner Elisabeth Simon and Mayor Loeff of Den Bosc, 1958
  • IVS Bosch, 1958: Estanislao, Kruysen, Słonicka, Loeff, Simon, Bushby, Sighele

At the time of her 1959 participation in the IVC Contest, Elisabeth Simon (1930–??) was 25 years young and she had a predilection for the music of Mozart. Other than that little is known about her except that she was already performing since 1955. In that year a semi-amateur school performance from May 7, at the Dartford County Grammar School for Girls could be traced. The work performed was Händel's Jeptha, conducted by Hubert Langley. By 1956, Simon took the soprano lead in the St.–Matthew's Passion at the Palm Sunday performances given at the Town Hall, Oxford by the Oxford Bach Passion Choir and Orchestra. This means that she arrived to the 5th International Vocal Competition 's Hertogenbosch with a surplus of experience. Her lot was comprised of 'I know that my redeemer liveth' from Händels' Messiah, Duparc's song 'L'invitation au voyage', and the prize winning highlight of the competition, the startling Zerbinetta aria 'Grosmächtige Prinzessin' from Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos.

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  • IVC winners 1958 Elisabeth Simon, Halina Słonicka, Maria Antonietta Sighele, after their concert appearance of September 13 (© IVC Den Bosch)

Critic Leo Hanekroot of De Tijd thought her equally brilliant in all three styles, plainchant, the distinguished splendor of a song like 'L'invitation', and the bravura of daring opera coloratura. At the same time he noticed that she was very 'English' in being somewhat reserved in her expression, and a bit cold. These features may well have confined her career to the British provinces, where she can be traced until the early 1970s. She participated there in song recitals, and was a noted soloist in Bach's St. Matthew Passion, and was a noted solist in Bach's St. Matthew Passion.

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SHORT PERFORMANCE CHRONOLOGY

7 May 1955
Händel: Jephtha
Dartford, County Grammar School for Girls Handel, with Maurice Bevan, John Wynton, Elizabeth Simon and Ella Clare (vocal) and the Dartford Choral Society, conducted by Hubert Langley

6 December 1955
Corn Exchange, Abingdon: Abingdon and District Musical Society
Elisabeth Simon, Jean Allister, Edgar Fleet and Kenneth Jones (vocal), conducted by Anthony Caesar

11 March 1956
Bach, St. Matthew Passion.
Palm Sunday performances given at the Town Hall, Oxford by the Oxford Bach Passion Choir and Orchestra
Elizabeth Simon, Anne Wood, Bruce Boyce, Eric Greene, David Galliver and Trevor Anthony.

2 March 1960
Kodaly and Dvorak
Reading Festival Chorus between conducted (unless otherwise stated below) by W. Ewart Masser (1961–67) and Maurice Miles (1968–70)
Elizabeth Simon, Lesley Wood, Maureen Dingle, David Galliver and Richard Standen

12/07/1960
The Ballads of the Four Seasons (First UK performance)
Cheltenham Festival
Elizabeth Simon, Gerald Moore.

12 March 1961
Bach: St. Matthew Passion
Palm Sunday performances given at the Town Hall, Oxford by the Oxford Bach Passion Choir and Orchestra
Elizabeth Simon, Kathleen Joyce, John Wakefield, David Galliver, William McCue and Trevor Anthony.

25 February 1962
Bach: St. Matthew Passion
Palm Sunday performances given at the Town Hall, Oxford by the Oxford Bach Passion Choir and Orchestra
Elizabeth Simon, Marjorie Biggar, John Wakefield, David Galliver, Bruce Boyce and Laurence Neely

06/06/1963
Spohr and Weber
Belle Vue, Manchester, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra,
Hugo Rignold, Peter Katin, Kenny Baker, Tony Coe, Elizabeth Simon, Thomas Baptiste.

24/08/1964
Mahler: Symphony no. 8 (First performance at the Proms)
Royal Albert Hall, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Northern Orchestra, Charles Groves, Goldsmith's Choral Union, Harrow Choral Society, Liverpool Philharmonic Choir, London Philharmonic Choir
Heather Harper, Elizabeth Vaughan, Elizabeth Simon, Jean Allister, Norma Procter, John Mitchinson, John Holmes, Alfred Orda.

8 March 1967
Beethoven: Missa Solennis
Reading Festival Chorus by W. Ewart Masser
Elizabeth Simon, Margaret Cable, Peter Bamber and Roger Stalman and the Reading Symphony Orchestra (with words).

28/4/67
Savoy Cinema, Limerick: Limerick Choral Union, the RTE Symphony Orchestra, Elizabeth Simon, Bernadette Greevy, Frank Patterson and William Young

7 January 1970
Handel: The Messiah
Queen Elizabeth Hall
Elizabeth Simon, Paul Esswood, Ian Partridge and David Thomas (vocal) with the London Orpheus Choir and Orchestra, conducted by James Gaddarn [404].

18/11/1970
Dvořák: Symphonic variations; Mendelssohn: Violin concerto; Janáček: Glagolitic Mass
Royal Festival Hall, BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Chorus, BBC Choral Society.
Andrew Davis, György Pauk, Elizabeth Simon, Meriel Dickinson, John Mitchinson, Stafford Dean, Christopher Bowers-Broadbent,

18 November 1972
Civic Theatre, Halifax: Halifax Choral Society
BBC Northern