Patricia Kern

Patricia Kern (born July 4, 1927) is a British mezzo-soprano and voice teacher. She was born in Swansea, Wales.

From 1949 to 1952 she studied with Gwynn Parry Jones at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London. She began her career with Opera for All (1952–5). In 1959 she joined Sadler’s Wells, making her début in "Rusalka"; for ten seasons she was a member of the company, her most notable achievement being her interpretations of "La Cenerentola", Rosina in "The Barber of Seville", Isolier ("Le comte Ory") and Isabella ("L'italiana in Algeri"). Her other roles included "Iolanthe", Hänsel, Cherubino, Pippo (in Rossini’s "La gazza ladra"), and Josephine in the première of Malcolm Williamson’s "The Violins of St Jacques" (1966). She made her Covent Garden début in 1967 as Zerlina. Her American début was at Washington, DC, in 1969 and in 1987 she sang Marcellina in Chicago. Kern's stage personality was described as engaging and sympathetic [Alan Blyth, "Patricia Kern", Grove Music Online, Oxford University Press 2007] . She made several recordings, including Massenet's "Manon" (1990) and Monteverdi's "Madrigals" (1998).

Kern went on to teach Voice at the University of Toronto, where her pupils have included Russell Braun, Brett Polegato, and Kimberly Barber.

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