Famed English soprano dies of brain tumour

Famed English soprano dies of brain tumour

RIP

norman lebrecht

November 01, 2024

We are saddened to report the death, aged 71, of the singer Sarah Leonard,  a focal performer for the past half-century.

Starting out for five years in the BBC Singers, Sarah became a leading interpreter of new works by  Birtwistle, Lachenmann, Ligeti, Boulez, Dusapin, Jonathan Harvey and more. She sang new operas at La Scala, Vienna, Paris and Hamburg. She toured with the Hilliard Ensemble in the music of Arvo Pärt, and sang with The Michael Nyman Band for fifteen years.

She can be heard in the title music of the long running BBC TV series Silent Witness.

She served for the past decade as Chair of the Association of English Singers and Speakers.

Comments

  • Alistair Hinton says:

    A very sad loss indeed. Her extensive repertoire included songs by Rachmaninoff and Sorabji as well as the more contemporary repertoire for which she was principally known. She sang the demanding soprano part in the finale on my own string quintet – some 50 minutes of challenging music, which she learnt in a very short time and performed as to the manner born. She will be greatly missed. RIP, Sarah.

    • DML says:

      Can I echo Alistair’s comments. I only heard her ‘live’ once – a spine-tingling performance with the Michael Nyman Band – but also had the pleasure of recording her in 1994 for a CD of music by myself and flautist Tim Wheater. She was magnificent, and charming.

  • Clive McCombie says:

    This is such sad news.RiP Sarah

  • Frith Trezevant says:

    I first met Sarah Leonard when she was coming out of a practice room and I was going in. The music I had heard from outside the room was pretty astonishing in its complexity and in the apparent ease of execution.

    Sarah was a dedicated leader of the Association of English Singers and Speakers at whose competition I last met her and I’m saddened to hear of her death, so young.

  • Dargomyzhsky says:

    A great artist. What a sad loss.

  • Rob keeley says:

    Terribly sad and shocking news.a nice lady and an extraordinary singer.

  • Simon Holt says:

    Not only a marvellous singer, but a delightful person. I was privileged to hear her sing several of my pieces over the last 30 odd years and what a joy to work with her. Effortless technique, well prepared, professional and always with a ready smile. She’ll be very missed.

  • LE says:

    Taken too soon when she had so much still to give! As well as her amazing artistry Sarah was also a gifted and very popular teacher of private students and courses.
    Can I offer another YouTube link to Silencium please as the one above is the instrumental version without Sarah’s haunting vocals:
    https://youtu.be/6PF2pxitsmo?si=0Ea8vxFDKY3VVU74

  • Lizzy Frost says:

    I was fortunate enough to have her as my next door neighbour growing up. I would regularly hear her singing through the walls and she was always so encouraging of the questionable sounds coming from the childhood clarinet/bassoon/piano/violin/drumkit practice occurring from our side of the fence.

  • Gordon Thompson says:

    Sad news. Younger than I am. Ask not for whom the bell tolls ….

  • Vicky Pearson says:

    Hi folks, really brave woman, and fantastic voice, that just kind of soars….!!! Absolutely fantastic! RIP Sarah…. fly high with the angels…. cheers, Vicky :-)) Xxxx

  • Julie Taylor says:

    I was fortunate to have Sarah as a Teacher. She was really inspiring and encouraging. I also went to some of her recitals. A fantastic voice as others have said. Float in heaven Sarah!

  • Gary says:

    Should you wish to hear Sarah actually sing Silencium, it’s here: https://open.spotify.com/track/05yrolyfCPm2sOmlG4WxGS?si=79a4162ddecc4acb
    She was a wonderful and kind artist.

  • Simon Holt says:

    Also sad to say that Barrie Gavin who filmed Sarah Leonard singing Morton Feldman’s Neither, died yesterday (12th November) at 89. A great director of contemporary music (and beyond) documentaries and much beloved of many composers. But, WHAT a legacy! For the ages . . .

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