Soprano with razor-sharp articulation who created lead roles including the Duchess of Argyll in Powder Her FaceA lustrous vocal quality, combined with an alluring, exuberant stage presence, ensured the popularity of the soprano Jill Gomez, who has died aged 83, on both operatic stage and concert platform. When her talent came to the fore in the early 1970s she was hailed by Arthur Jacobs in Opera magazine, along with Josephine Barstow, as “the most exciting of our newer female singers”, while reviews of the time hailed her Governess in Britten’s The Turn of the Screw and Anne Trulove in Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress as among the finest.The latter role was one of those she took, along with Mélisande, Calisto and Helena (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), at Glyndebourne, where Gomez enjoyed her first major successes, appearing between 1969 and 1984. At Covent Garden her roles included Lisa in La Sonnambula, Titania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Lauretta in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi. Continue reading...