Dame Eva Turner (Born in Werneth, Oldham, England, on 10 March 1892 - died on 16 June 1990) was a British soprano. She began as a chorister with the Carl Rosa Opera Company and steadily took on larger roles such as Santuzza and Madama Butterfly. She eventually became one of the most prestigious sopranos in the world. Location within the British Isles Mumps Bridge, Oldham Backwoods of Delph, Oldham Oldham is a large town in North West England, lying in the foothills of the Pennines on the north-eastern edge of the Greater Manchester conurbation: the town proper has a population of 103,544, including a large... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location (dark green) within the United Kingdom (light green), with the Republic of Ireland (blue) to its west Languages None official English de facto Capital None official London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked... March 10 is the 69th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (70th in leap years). ... 1892 (MDCCCXCII) was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... June 16 is the 167th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (168th in leap years), with 198 days remaining. ... This article is about the year. ...

Her first formal singing lessons were with Dan Rootham, the teacher of Clara Butt. Although small in stature, she had an enormous voice. Her international debut was as Freia in Das Rheingold at La Scala. She had been chosen by Arturo Toscanini who was impressed not only by the size and refinement of her voice, but by the beauty of her figure. Clara Butt (1872-1936) was an operatic singer. ...

The one role with which she left her indelible mark was as Turandot. Extant recordings of her Turandot in live performances at Covent Garden in 1937 with Giovanni Martinelli as Calaf attest that she was justly famous. The solidity, power, and amplitude of the middle register, the surety and smoothness of the top register, and her imposing low register has, in totality, never been rivalled, even among the other giant voices of her time and after, such as Grob-Prandl, Nilsson, Anny Konetzni, and the mezzo-soprano or "falcon" Elena Nicolai. Turner's middle register was only matched by Konetzni, who lacked her top. Nilsson and Grob-Prandl matched her top, both of whom lacked her richly potent lower and middle tones. Nicolai has a freak instrument in its range, power, and passion, but the voice was too rough to match the equalization of Eva Turner's complete register.

She was also Wagnerian singer, both in heavy roles such a Brunnhilde, and lighter roles such as Elsa. At one point she performed in The Ring and Turandot in the same week. In 1948 she retired from the stage and became Visiting professor of Voice at Oklahoma University. In 1962 she became a Dame of the British empire.

She had returned to England by the 1950's as a Professor of Music at Oxford and became feared for her extremely demanding teaching style. Rita Hunter, a famous soprano herself, regarded Turner's method too exacting. Among her other successful students were Amy Shuard and Roberta Knie and so many, very many others. Eva Turner died a beloved artist in 1990.

References

• Dame Eva Turner at werneth-jnr.oldham.sch.uk